Where there's a will
by Be-More-Specific
Summary: Saw the movie. Loved it. Liked the Rogue and Bobby pairing, so I'm playing around with it. Chapter 25 is up!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Please don't sue.  
  
Distribution: Sure just tell me where.  
  
Rating: Starting off PG, but may get heavier as time goes on.  
  
I normally write stuff for Buffy The Vampire Slayer. But I saw the movie X: 2, and loved the Rogue and Bobby pairing so much that I had to go with it. This is my first so be gentle, although constructive criticism is always welcome. The show Angel inspired this story. The character Gwen Raiden, who is somewhat, electrically charged, smacked a little of Rogue, so I'm following that idea.  
  
* * *  
  
"Well, there has to be some way." Scott Summers was pacing Professor Xavier's office, tastefully decorated in deep mahogany. He was frustrated.  
  
"I agree Scott there must be, but as yet we have not been able to ascertain what that way is. And I am hesitant about submitting that girl to a lot of testing that may be fruitless for a long time."  
  
Scott flopped down into a chair, "I know. But the situation between them is going to get worse and allowing her to keep on blaming herself isn't helping either. She really does think that it was her fault. It wasn't though it was his."  
  
The professor smiled, "Are any of us truly responsible for are actions when we are young and in love? He just thought he would be able to move away quick enough and . . ." his voice trailed off, "He was mistaken. Does Ororo know when he's going to wake up?"  
  
"No, he's well and truly out of it. She says that there wasn't any permanent damage but it could have been a lot worse. He just slipped into unconsciousness, and of course she was still sleeping at first she didn't wake and push him off until it was too late and then she didn't have her gloves on so she touched his chest with her bare hand, that probably didn't help but it was the lesser of the two evils."  
  
"I'm surprised he was able to get in there without alerting someone."  
  
Scott shrugged his shoulders, "I checked the hallway cameras, he's been checking on her two and three times a night. Logan says it started when she almost died in the jet, you know when she couldn't get herself fastened in on time, and Kurt saved her. He keeps making sure that she's okay, he afraid of losing her. I get that."  
  
The Professor looked at Scott sympathetically, "Was this the first time that he kissed her?"  
  
"No idea. We don't have cameras in the bedrooms obviously. Maybe this was the first time he kissed her for too long. This does bring us back to the point. It's not fair on them. No one should have to go through this, not being with the person you love hurts and it's just not fair."  
  
"Are you coping Scott?"  
  
He avoided the Professor's eye, he didn't want the older man to see the tears in them, "I'm coping, and this is how I do it. I help other people. And I want to help these two." He hesitated, "She was Jean's favourite student and she often said how hard it must be for the poor girl. I want to help them."  
  
Charles Xavier nodded, "I think you're right, at least in the long run. Though, of course, only if she's willing to go through with the testing. The first step is to try to find out why she has this power."  
  
Scott frowned, "Well . . . it's her mutation. Isn't it?"  
  
He smiled, "Yes it is. But why? Which of her genes is altered to make it so, and what function in the body is accelerated or reduced to have this effect."  
  
After a second Scott shook his head, "I'm not following."  
  
The Professor took a breath, "Well, your mutation increases the reflective power of your retina. This means that almost pure light energy is beamed back out of your eyes. We combat this by shielding your eyes."  
  
Scott caught on, "So if we can figure out how Rogue's mutation is caused, we might be able to combat it?"  
  
"Exactly. And hopefully we'll manage it before Mr. Drake makes any more late night trips to her room and nearly kills himself."  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue sat by the bed holding Bobby's hand in her gloved one. She was still wearing her pyjamas and she only had socks on her feet. She was sitting in a chair that had been brought in for her, there were tears streaming down her face as they had been doing since he had been brought in here last night. She hadn't moved from his side that night, the next day, and she was prepared to stay here for the rest of this night too until he woke up. If he ever woke up.  
  
Rogue bit her lip. This was all her fault. She should never have agreed to start seeing him. It was only natural that eventually he'd desperately want to kiss her. She'd tried to dissuade him but . . .well, the problem was that she hadn't really wanted to. She hadn't wanted to dissuade him even though she had to. He could tell, he knew her.  
  
And now look at him. He looked so pale. Rogue stood and looked down into his face. He was here because of her. She ran her hand over his cheek, wishing that she could touch him, kiss him, and tell him that some how they'd make it all okay. But they couldn't make it all okay. She didn't know how.  
  
The door opened behind her and Logan slipped through it. "Hey. How's he doing?"  
  
Rogue turned her tear stained face towards him, "He's the same. Not moving, not talking."  
  
Logan pulled a chair up next to Rogue's at the side of the bed. "It really wasn't your fault you know. You had no idea what was going on and if you didn't know then you couldn't stop it."  
  
She turned and looked at Logan, "Look at him," she said pointing, "I don't care what anyone says. It's because of what I am that this happened. He could have died and . . ."  
  
Logan took her hand, "But he didn't, because you woke up and saved him."  
  
"I should never have gotten into a relationship. It's too dangerous. I should have told him no and then we wouldn't have to sit here wondering if he'll wake up."  
  
"He will wake up. He wouldn't leave you. Do you know how lucky you are?"  
  
Rogue looked at him with her mouth open, "Lucky? Are you kidding me?"  
  
"No, I'm serious. To find someone at your age who you can love and who loves you back, most people would kill to feel that way."  
  
Rogue gave a scathing laugh, "And that's the point. This feeling, these feelings are going to kill him. It's just a matter of time before there is another accident. They happen. You can't plan for them, you can try to avoid them, but eventually one way or another, there will be an accident. And this isn't like normal relationships, an accident here will end up with him dead."  
  
Logan didn't know what to say. He slipped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her to rest her head on his jacket covered shoulder, like he had done on the train the time when she ran away.  
  
After a second Rogue spoke hesitantly, "What about you?"  
  
"Me?"  
  
"Yeah you. Sitting here looking at him, I know how I'd feel if he had been killed. For you . . .she was."  
  
Logan tightened his grip on her arm slightly, "Yeah."  
  
Rogue sat up straight, "And for you it's even worse."  
  
"How'd you figure?"  
  
She shrugged, "If he had been killed, at least I would know that I loved him and he loved me and that we were together. You don't even have that. Mr. Summers does but you don't."  
  
Logan felt his eyes sting, for a young girl she was damn insightful, "It hurts. But . . . I have to bear it."  
  
Rogue nodded, "You seem to be . . . bearing well."  
  
With a smile, he squeezed her hand, "Thanks." Logan could feel her sympathy for him, despite what she was going through. He blinked and sighed changing the topic, "Aren't you going to go and get some sleep it's late?"  
  
"No. I'm not moving until he wakes up. I . . .want to . . .to be here when . . ."  
  
Logan nodded, "All right. Have you eaten?"  
  
"Not since dinner last night. Not hungry."  
  
"Yeah, well, if you want to stay here then you're going to have to eat something. If you don't want to move then I'll go and get you something but you are going to eat."  
  
Rogue smiled at the parental tone in his voice, she missed that about her own family, one of the only things that she did miss. "Right. I wouldn't say no to a spare sweater if you have one too. It's not cold, but I'm still all the time."  
  
"I'll be back."  
  
* * *  
  
Okay, so maybe he had overdone it just a little. Logan pushed open the door of the hospital wing with his hands full. He looked over to Rogue to see that she had fallen fast asleep, her legs at the side of her bent at the knees, her head resting on her arm, her other hand holding onto Bobby's.  
  
Logan smiled and walked over, dropping the things he carried on the bed next to him. If any one saw him doing this he would he embarrassed enough to die, he was sure that he would actually die.  
  
Logan fumbled around and picked up the slippers that Rogue roommate Kitty had given to him. If Rogue was going to stay there the night, he didn't want her to make herself ill sitting in the cold.  
  
He pushed her feet into them. He doubted that she would wake up. She hadn't slept properly the night before and it was late.  
  
He pushed the sweater over her head and pulled her hands through the sleeves, making sure he didn't touch her skin. Rogue moaned in her sleep. He had been to the kitchen and gotten her some food, and yes, okay, he'd admit it he had even made her a thermos of hot chocolate. He put the flask on the side table along with a packet of biscuits, a wrapped sandwich and two packs of crisps.  
  
As an after thought, he got a blanket out of the cupboard and draped it over her. Yes, if anyone saw him . . .just die.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue woke a few hours later but didn't open her eyes. She was tired, why had she woken up? She wasn't ready to wake up. Her mind was drifting back to unconsciousness when she felt a gentle pressure on her hand, "Rogue?"  
  
Rogue head snapped up and she looked at Bobby, "Oh God, you're awake! How are you feeling?"  
  
Bobby shrugged slightly, "I'm okay. What am I doing here?"  
  
She flushed in embarrassment, "I almost killed you."  
  
He stared at her for a second, his eyes went vacant as though he was reminiscing, "Ah, of course I remember . . .a little. Wait . . .you didn't nearly kill me. I almost killed myself. It wasn't your fault."  
  
Tears started running down Rogue's face as she fought to keep control of herself, "If I wasn't like I was you would . . ."  
  
Ororo Monroe coming through the door of the hospital wing cut off their conversation. "Hey, I got an alert in my room saying that you had regained consciousness. How're you doing?" She hesitated for a moment before smiling, "You idiot."  
  
Bobby smiled, "I'm okay. I little queasy."  
  
She nodded, "That is to be expected, it'll go away soon."  
  
"Can I go now?"  
  
Ororo smiled, "No, you've been unconscious for about thirty hours. If everything's okay in the morning then you can go." She started reading off the monitors, "Everything seems to be okay, but you are staying." After a few minute she wrote something down on a chart at the end of the bed, "Okay, I suggest that you try to sleep some more and then I'll check on you in the morning. Rogue . . ."  
  
Rogue shook her head, "I'm staying."  
  
Ororo would argue with her if she had thought that it would do any good at all, the girl was even more stubborn than she herself was, "All right."  
  
As she left Rogue looked down at Bobby, "You want anything?"  
  
"Some of the cookies would be good."  
  
"Cookies?"  
  
"The ones on the table there."  
  
Rogue smiled, "Logan must've brought them, he was going to get me some food and a sweater . . ." she looked down at herself, "Which I am apparently wearing as well as my slippers. I guess I fell asleep. Okay, cookies it is."  
  
* * *  
  
The following afternoon Bobby was back in his room, sat on his bed talking to Rogue. Since John had left Bobby had the room all to himself, and normally it was fun. Today it wasn't. There was something on her mind, "Rogue, why don't you just tell me. What are you thinking are you still blaming your self? It really was not your fault."  
  
Rogue looked at him, "You know what we were saying last night, I was going to say that even though you might not care . . .you should. If I wasn't like I am you wouldn't nearly have been killed."  
  
Bobby interrupted her, "If you weren't you . . . I," Bobby gripped her hand, "Rogue, I love you. And I love you just like you are. It doesn't matter about . . .anything else."  
  
Rogue bit her lip, "I love you too. But that doesn't matter. I have to stop seeing you."  
  
He looked at her in horror, "What? You can't. I'm sorry that I kissed you but it wasn't your fault, it was mine. You will not take the blame for this."  
  
She shook her head, "It's not even about blame, either way it still stands that you being with me, it's dangerous. You'll get hurt again."  
  
Bobby shook his head and sat up, "So, you tell me that you love me and then break up? You can't do this. I need you."  
  
Rogue didn't try to stop the tears anymore. "That's just it Bobby, I am exactly what you don't need, what is very, very bad for you."  
  
Bobby leant forward and tried to take her hand but she stood up, "Rogue don't do this, don't pull away. If you love me and I love you then we'll find a way."  
  
Rogue almost laughed as she felt her heart break, "That's just it. We might not. And then you spend your life with someone who can't give you anything. Our lives are so weird and you need to try and have a life safe and away from this craziness. I will just pull you back into it. I don't want to do that."  
  
Bobby stood, still a little unsteady on his legs, "I want you to do that."  
  
Rogue held her hands out, "Have you really thought about this. Seriously, I mean. You can never kiss me, we could never relax our guard, there would be no chance of sex, children, even brushing past me is dangerous. No. This is my choice as much as yours and I have made it."  
  
"Please don't do this. I love you and I am begging you not to do this."  
  
Rogue touched her hand to his cheek, turned, and walked out of the room. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing and I admit it despite my pride.  
  
Rating: PG for now.  
  
Distribution: Sure just tell me where.  
  
Okay, second chapter. The first one went all angsty on me, but this one may see things getting better. Maybe anyway, or maybe I'll want to torture my readers for a little longer. As I write this, I'm supposed to be doing revision for my exams, but as I haven't started and the exam is tomorrow I have a feeling I'm not going to be ready. Oh well, who said a girl can have everything?  
  
* * *  
  
She wouldn't meet his eyes. She just wouldn't, if she did she'd see it. And she didn't want to see it. Every time she looked at him and saw the hurt that she had caused in his eyes it made her heart sting. She looked up. He tried to smile at her but it got lost on the way and didn't look like a smile. She saw the intention though and tried to smile back. She was equally unsuccessful.  
  
Six days, and it wasn't getting any better, every time she looked at him she wanted to cry. She wanted it to stop hurting, she wanted it to ease off just for a few hours, but mostly she just wanted Bobby.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby kept staring at her. He couldn't seem to tear his eyes away. He knew that she had only done it for him, because she loved him and felt so unbelievably guilty about him kissing her and nearly dying. Sometimes he felt so sorry for her that he could have cried for her hurt as well as his other times he was so mad at her for putting him through this that he could have just killed her.  
  
Sometimes he felt both. Either way though he would forget it all in a second if she would just come back to him and let them go back to the way that they were, in love.  
  
* * *  
  
"Well, the best we can do is tell her and give her the option. There's a chance that she may not be interested, especially not at the moment."  
  
Professor Xavier looked at Ororo and frowned, "Why now especially?"  
  
Scott looked at him, "Didn't you know? As soon as Bobby regained consciousness she broke it off with him."  
  
The older man sighed, "Oh dear. Do you think we are too late?"  
  
Ororo shook her head, "No. She only did it cause she was afraid of hurting him. We might be able to try and help them with that."  
  
"Okay. Scott, go and call her to my office. The last lesson should finish in around five minutes."  
  
Scott nodded.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue had very definite plans for her evening. She was going to go back to her room. Crawl into the bath, soak there for at least an hour, then after she got out she was going to crawl into bed and eat a lot of comfort food. "Rogue?"  
  
She turned round at the sound of Scott Summers' voice; she hadn't even seen him since the tragedy at Alkali Lake, "Hey, something wrong?"  
  
"No. The Professor asked that you come to his office to speak to him."  
  
Rogue was surprised but followed Scott to the big double doors. Scott opened them and she walked into the office when Aurora and the Professor were waiting, "Okay, this is getting kinda scary."  
  
The Professor smiled, "We wanted to speak to you. There is no real delicate way to begin this conversation, so it'll be more practical to just begin. I am given to understand that you and Mr. Drake are no longer a couple. Is that correct?"  
  
Rogue flushed, wondering where this was going, "That's right Professor."  
  
"Would you mind terribly telling me why?"  
  
Rogue was embarrassed and couldn't see how this was any of the Professor business, not that she didn't want him to know, but it hurt to talk about Bobby, "After what happened, I decided that it was too dangerous for us to continue seeing each other."  
  
The Professor nodded, "I commend your sense, I can imagine that it wasn't easy. But, I believe that we may be able to help you personally Rogue."  
  
She frowned, "How's that Professor?"  
  
The Professor indicated to Ororo to take the floor, "Well, we have found ways for those among us to," she hesitated searching for the right word, "Cope with their mutation. And we would be more than willing to try and find out if there is a way to combat yours."  
  
Rogue wasn't exactly sure that she was hearing this correctly, "Are you saying that there may be a way to get rid of this?"  
  
The Professor shook his head, "There is no way to dispose of a mutation Rogue, but there may be a way to control it. It would involve a lot of testing and it may be very time consuming. We would be willing to try but of course only if you are."  
  
Rogue laughed, "Of course. When do we start?"  
  
The Professor smiled, "As soon as possible."  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue flinched as the fourth needle was pushed into her arm. Ouch! This was not pleasant. This whole process had started about three weeks ago and the 'testing' was hard. Everything about her was being monitored and tested. She had had to do all kinds of things. The first things they had done was tested her responses to exercise. She had done an hour on a treadmill, and then on a rowing machine, then they had tested her reactions to all kinds of muscle stimulus. Now they had moved on to blood tests, skin samples, everything about her. She was missing lessons to do all this, but she was managing to keep up after wards. The teachers all knew her circumstances and they helped her with anything she didn't understand on a one to one basis.  
  
It didn't matter. She honestly didn't care about how hard she had to work, because there was the fact that afterwards, she might be able to touch Bobby without killing him. She wasn't exactly sure what they were hoping to produce, maybe a medicine of some kind or a pill. But either way it was going to be worth it.  
  
All the same, she was only getting through this because of Logan. He wasn't participating in the testing, but he was helping her. He didn't really do anything that she could put her finger on, but he was there. He was supportive even when she was tired, in pain, or just feeling down. She smiled to herself despite the pains in her left arm when she thought about how jealous Bobby had been of him. He really had no need to be and she had told him so. Logan was her friend. The closest thing she had to a parent and as such, he was invaluable, but he was not more than that. She almost chuckled when she thought of the way Bobby had frozen his hand and made it very clear that he was her boyfriend. Then she stopped smiling.  
  
Bobby wasn't her boyfriend anymore. She hadn't told him about this. It might not work for ages and she didn't want to get his hopes up. It hurt her more that she couldn't share this good news with the person who mattered most in her life  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby sat on the floor in his room. He was sculpting a model of Rogue out of ice. He was trying to capture the light that used to appear in her eyes every time she saw him. He didn't want to forget it. He hardly ever saw her anymore and when he did, she was always with Logan. Logan. Bobby scowled to himself. He hated the fact that he felt this way about the older man. But he couldn't help but be jealous.  
  
It was weird. In theory, Rogue wasn't his anymore. But she would always be his, because he'd always love her. And yet, he couldn't stand seeing her with Logan.  
  
Maybe he'd ask her about it. After all, in theory they were still friends.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue walked down the hallway with Logan. They were laughing about something they'd seen on the TV when Bobby came toward them.  
  
"Rogue, can I speak to you for a minute?"  
  
She was taken by surprise, "Um . . . yeah sure."  
  
Logan shrugged, "Maybe see you later?"  
  
Rogue nodded, "Yeah."  
  
A Logan walked away Bobby indicated to a chair, "I wanted to ask you . . .if everything's okay."  
  
She looked confused, "Yeah, everything's fine."  
  
Bobby wasn't about to be put off though, "It's just, you haven't been coming to class, and you're not hanging out with your friends, something's up. Does this have something to do with me? I don't want you to have to miss out on stuff because you're avoiding me."  
  
Rogue smiled, "I'm not. Really. I'm just . . .spending some time with Logan. That's all." She hated lying to Bobby but thinking on her feet, she couldn't come up with another excuse.  
  
It was apparently the wrong excuse, "Oh. Right."  
  
He had been right. There was something. Something that she couldn't tell him but that she didn't mind telling Logan. Well fine. "Okay, I'll see you around."  
  
Rogue got the distinct impression that she had said the wrong thing, maybe she should have told him the truth from the start. She just wasn't sure.  
  
* * *  
  
Kitty frowned, "Are you serious?"  
  
"Yeah I'm very serious."  
  
She thought for a moment. There was really no harm in it, "Yeah that'd be nice. Saturday?"  
  
"Sure. How about around eight? I'll pick you up."  
  
Kitty smiled and nodded, "That'd be great. See you then."  
  
"See you then." Bobby walked down the hall and went into his room.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue pushed open the door of the room she shared with Kitty and Ju. She'd had a rough day. More tests. She was looking forward to a girly night in if she was honest. Wow wasn't her social life great? She was looking forward to staying in on a Saturday night. Rogue looked around her room and saw to her surprise that Kitty was not there. Ju was sat on her bed, but there was no Kitty, "Hey, where's Kitty?"  
  
Jubilee looked up at her but looked down again quickly, "I don't know she didn't say where she was going."  
  
Rogue frowned but she didn't have time to answer, as there was a knock on the door. Rogue opened it and saw Ororo stood there, "Hey, is everything okay?"  
  
"Can we see you in the Professor's office please?"  
  
Rogue smiled, "Sure I'll be right there."  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue sat down in the leather chair, "So? Good news or bad?"  
  
Professor Xavier smiled at her, "Good news we hope."  
  
"So?"  
  
"Well, when we started your testing we took all kinds of readings, but we discovered that the main results were actually obtained from your skin cells."  
  
"My skin?"  
  
"Yes. Now every human being on the planet has porous skin. If a cold person touches a warm person, they will feel warmer; they absorb the heat slightly. Now our original thought with regard to your mutation was that somehow you used electricity to pull energy from living things. However, it would now seem to be the case, that your skin is extremely porous. You don't just absorb heat you absorb life."  
  
Rogue flushed, "Yeah, I got that part."  
  
The Professor noticed her discomfort and quickly moved on, "Well, our next step was to figure out how your skin did that. Our answer was in your blood. Every body's skin has two layers. Yours only has one. Using the earlier example, blood as well as skin recognise heat. Your blood comes very close the surface although you look no different. And it is this proximity that causes the problem."  
  
Rogue thought for a minute, "So because my skin is very thin, my blood is able to absorb more from people than is normal. It that right?"  
  
The Professor nodded hesitantly, "Very close. Your blood is more . . . think of your blood cells being charged. That would get you closer. This would make no difference if it were not for your skin."  
  
Rogue nodded, she was surprised at how much relief actually understanding her condition gave her, "So is there anything that can be done about it?"  
  
The Professor smiled, "We have developed something that we want you to try."  
  
She nodded, "Will it hurt?"  
  
For the first time since she had entered the room Ororo spoke, "No. There would be no point if it hurt you."  
  
"Okay."  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue sat on the bed in a hospital gown. Ororo had said that they needed access to her back.  
  
There was a knock at the door, "Come in."  
  
The Professor, Scott and Ororo came through the door, "We thought that we'd come too if you don't mind. We really want to see if this works."  
  
Rogue smiled at Scott, "Sure. You guys did this you should be here."  
  
Ororo walked over to her, "This may not be what you expected."  
  
As the woman opened a box, Rogue looked own into it. There was a small round metal disk about two inches across. It had twelve holes running round the sides of it and a small red circle in the centre."  
  
"Wow. I thought it'd be a pill or maybe an injection. This looks better. Um . . .not to sound like an idiot. But what does it do?"  
  
The Professor smiled, "If it works, and you should know that there's no guarantee that it will, it will coat you skin from the inside. That's why we needed to put it on your back. The base of the spine is where the skin breathes from most."  
  
The Professor looked to Ororo, "Ready?"  
  
She nodded, "Okay. Rogue if you'll lie on your front."  
  
Rogue did so without hesitation. She felt a blanket laid over her bottom half and when she was covered for modesties sake, Ororo pulled the gown apart along the cut up the back.  
  
"Brace your self this may be a little cold."  
  
Rogue laughed slightly, "Okay."  
  
Ororo took a deep breath, "Here goes. We've set up a camera so that you can watch."  
  
She turned on a screen in front of Rogue and Rogue saw her back and Ororo's hand.  
  
She lifted the small disk out o the box and placed in on the small of Rogue's back.  
  
Rogue watched in astonishment as thin pieces of wire came out of each of the twelve holes around the side. They were so thin that they looked like hair. Apparently, each one was hollow and a droplet of liquid came out of each, as soon as the liquid dried the wire pressed down into her skin and pierced. She expected to feel pain but she did not. Just slight warmth.  
  
Ororo took another deep breath, "Well, so far so good. Now the red circle is like a button. You press it and the disk will activate. Are you ready?"  
  
Rogue nodded, "Yes." Ororo pressed the button firmly but not hard.  
  
A very strange sensation passed through Rogue's entire body, as though something was moving quickly over her skin. Rogue took a sharp breath in, in surprise, the Professor spoke, "Are you alright Rogue?"  
  
Rogue nodded, "Yes I'm fine. It was just a strange sensation. Like something was passing over me."  
  
He smiled, "Something was, in a way. But in wasn't passing over you. It was passing through you. It coats your skin from the inside if it works properly. And then it maintains the coat. You can move it'll stay on."  
  
Rogue held the gown together behind her and sat up, running her fingers over the mysterious new lump on her back, "How do we know if it works?"  
  
The Professor smiled, "Like this." And he reached out and grabbed her bare arm. 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing and I'm not ashamed . . .well maybe a little.  
  
Distribution: Sure just tell me where.  
  
Rating: PG for now he he, (grins evilly).  
  
So chapter three. Quite liking writing this story. Giving me a break from exam work. And hell do I hate exam work. If you like Bobby and Rogue stories may I recommend the stories by 'ramblingsofcrazywomen' they're excellent. Please review, they give me warm and fuzzy feelings, and they make me right quicker.  
  
Bobby sat. It wasn't so bad. He could do this. He could sit in the movie theatre with a girl who wasn't Rogue and not think about Rogue at all. He could do it. He would. Kitty was nice anyway. She was friendly, funny, pretty, and not Rogue. But that didn't mean he hadn't had a good time. If they had just been here as friends he would have been able to handle it. It would have been fun to get out and see a movie. But well . . .they were supposed to be here on a date. He didn't want to be dating anyone but . . .that girl he wasn't thinking about.  
  
Bobby mentally yelled at himself. He had to get over her. She didn't want to be with him, or she couldn't be with him. And now she was keeping things from him, things that she was sharing with Logan but not with him. That hurt more than anything else did. She would share things with Logan but she wouldn't with him. Could there be something going on between the two of them? He didn't think so and he trusted Rogue but then you never knew. There just might be. His face flushed and he gritted his teeth. He was going to have a good time with Kitty, and after this date, he was going to ask her on another.  
  
After a minute, he took a deep breath and reached over. Slipping his hand into Kitty's he felt a stab of guilt. Was he even being fair to Kitty? After all, he was sat here thinking about his ex. He squashed his thoughts. The key word in that sentence was ex.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue tried to pull back from the Professor grip but it was like steel, "Professor no!"  
  
"Rogue it's all right. You're not hurting me I feel fine."  
  
Rogue stopped pulling and looked down at the Professor. He looked okay; she took a deep breath, "Does that mean I'm okay that this works?"  
  
The Professor smiled, "Yes Rogue. It would appear so."  
  
Rogue was about to yell, to scream and shout and hug everyone in the room. Instead, she just smiled happily and began to cry.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue sat back in Professor Xavier's office, dressed except for her gloves. They had put a large band-aid over the device on her back; she was worried that otherwise it might come off. They had assured her that it would not but she wanted to be safe, "So, is there any way to permanently fit it Professor?"  
  
The Professor looked at her seriously, "Rouge I know that your mutation has caused you a lot of suffering in the past, but that is behind you now. The device we created has been specially designed so that you can remove it. You press the red circle and it will detach."  
  
"How do I put it back on?"  
  
"Just hold it over the same place and it will reattach. All you have to do is press the red circle again. It may be possible to graft skin over it, as it is so thin. But I would not want to do this. Your power is likely to be the type that will grow. You may be able to actually project it at some point in the future."  
  
"Project it?"  
  
"The same effect but you will not need skin on skin contact. And while this may be dangerous to humans, it may be invaluable to us in the war against violent mutants. As I recall you were the one who was able to stop John. It is important that we at least leave the option open. We would also be interested in teaching you to do this. But we will discuss that at a later date. You can wear the disk as long as you wish. You can also sleep in it."  
  
Rogue smiled, "Thank you. I don't know about the developing the powers part. But thank you for this."  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue walked back down the hall in something of a daze. She had barely heard the rest of what the Professor had said. She had been too busy thinking. She wanted to go and see Bobby.  
  
Rogue thought for a minute and decided to go to her room and change and then go and see him. She turned the corner and saw Bobby and Kitty stood at the door of her room. Had he come looking for her? She stayed quiet and listened.  
  
* * *  
  
"I had a really great time Bobby."  
  
He smiled back at her, "Yeah, me too. Do you wanna maybe . . .do it again?"  
  
Kitty nodded, "That'd be great. Next weekend?"  
  
"Sure. Go out for something to eat?"  
  
"Yeah, there's a new place in town I wanna try."  
  
"Same time?"  
  
"Okay."  
  
Bobby grit his teeth, he was getting over Rogue, this was a good thing, and he could do this. He slipped an arm around Kitty's waist and pulled her to him. He lowered his head and gently kissed her. She slipped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss. After a few seconds they separated, "See you tomorrow?"  
  
Kitty nodded, "Goodnight."  
  
Kitty slipped in the door and Bobby turned and walked down the hallway. Rogue couldn't physically move for few seconds.  
  
* * *  
  
She walked down the hall and to the door. He hand rested on the handle but she found that she couldn't quite push the door open. Her heart was pounding too loud in her chest, she was afraid that everyone would hear it. She rested her head on the door silently for a few seconds, she could hear Kitty and Ju inside talking about Kitty's date, " . . .he was so sweet. When he reached out in the middle of the film to take my hand, he looked so nervous. He said that we should go out again next week . . ."  
  
Ju cut her off, "Look, I know that you're excited but I don't really want to talk about this. He's Rogue's ex and as hard as she tries to deny it, I know that she still has feelings for him. It feels like I'm betraying her just talking about this."  
  
Kitty hesitated, "Do you really think that she'd mind? It's been almost a month, I thought she'd be over him?"  
  
"Kitty are you blind? She's been depressed since they split and so has he. I can't think why he'd ask you on a date."  
  
Kitty made a shocked sound, "Oh gee thanks. Maybe he likes me. Has that thought ever occurred to you? And I've always thought that he was good looking and now I find he's actually nice too. If Rogue wanted him for herself she shouldn't have broken up with him."  
  
"Kitty you know that it's not that simple. She was afraid of hurting him because her powers . . ."  
  
Kitty was angry though and she cut her friend off, "Okay, so say she does like him still. Does that mean that she can never be with him because of her power but even though she can't no one else can either? That's ridiculous."  
  
"Look Kitty I'm just saying that . . ."  
  
"Never mind I'm going to bed."  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue couldn't force herself to go into the room after that. Ju had known tonight when Rogue had come back to the room and she hadn't told her. But she knew why. Ju was in the middle of Kitty and Rogue, her two friends. Not a nice place to be.  
  
Rogue sat down on the sofa. She didn't know what to do. She hadn't told Bobby about the tests because she didn't want to get his hopes up. But he had just moved on without her. This hurt more than she thought possible. Her eyes stung and she cried again. She almost laughed when she thought about how she'd cried earlier tonight and how happy she'd been. Now she didn't know what to do with herself.  
  
About an hour later, she crawled into bed. Fine if Bobby wanted to move on then fine. She could move on too. She'd show him just how over him she was. Her mind was made up. Rogue could be stubborn when she wanted; she stubbornly decided that he was going to see how much he didn't matter to her anymore. She also stubbornly ignored the tears on her face.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby sat at the breakfast table. He had hardly slept. He felt so horribly guilty. And he knew that he shouldn't feel that way. He hadn't really done anything wrong. He didn't even feel guilty about betraying Rogue, he felt guilty about betraying himself, what he felt, what he knew was real. He felt as though he had turned his back on what he felt and that made him a bad person.  
  
He sat with a bowl of cereal, not at all interested in eating it when he heard one of the guys give a wolf whistle. Not really bothered but mildly curious he turned around to see whom it had been directed at.  
  
At first, he didn't quite trust what his eyes were telling him. But after a few seconds, when she didn't vanish he knew that it was Rogue. She was wearing a denim skirt that was little more than a belt, tan tights, and knee high black boots. Her shirt was black and very low cut in a v. Her hair was down around her shoulders as she walked up the centre aisle to appreciative stares all around.  
  
Bobby almost choked on his cereal as he stared at her. She looked amazing. He had the intense desire to go over and take her hand just to prove that she was his. But she wasn't. The guy who had whistled at her called out, "Rogue. Hey, come sit here."  
  
She turned smiled and went to join him at his table. Bobby felt as though she had kicked him in the gut. Fine she wanted to do that. That was just fine.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue wished that she could gloat over the expression on Bobby's face as she went to sit with some guy that she didn't even know. But she couldn't. He was hurt and she saw it. She had hurt him. She couldn't feel . . .she was surprised to Bobby get up and walk farther into the hall rather than out of it. Her face hardened as he sat down next to Kitty.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby said his goodbyes to Kitty as he went off to his own lesson. One he had with Rogue. As he turned the corner he saw Rogue and the guy stood next to the door. She was touching his arm and laughing at something funny he had just said. He saw red. That was it. He marched forward, "Can I speak to you for a minute Rogue?"  
  
The guy turned, "Hey, back off man, I'm talking to the lady."  
  
"I wasn't asking your permission I was asking Rogue."  
  
"Whom I'm talking to."  
  
Bobby was about to snap back but Rogue interrupted, "What is it?"  
  
"I just need to talk to you."  
  
Rogue didn't move, "I 'm talking here to someone else."  
  
Bobby tried to take Rogue's hand and pull her away but the guy stepped between then, "Look, we're busy. Why don't you just back off?"  
  
Bobby tried to manoeuvre round the guy but he pushed Bobby in the chest. Bobby, if he was honest had just been waiting for an excuse. He lashed out catching the guy hard across the chin. There wasn't a minute to think after that. The fight broke out in earnest. They were scrambling over each other, hitting wherever they could. Rogue was yelling at them both in the background but the blood was pumping too hard in his head for him to hear what she was saying. The next thing he knew he felt electricity shock through him. The guy was using powers on him? Fine he could do that. Before anything else happened, Bobby pointed with an open hand to the guy and shot a jet of ice at him.  
  
He shot again and the guy hit the floor. Rogue ran over to him, "Bobby stop. Please stop. You're going to really hurt each other."  
  
Bobby pulled himself together enough to register that the guy, whoever he was had a bloody nose and a steadily darkening black eye. There were going to be ice burns on him as well. He could also feel an ache on his ribs.  
  
Rogue, ignoring the other, slipped her arm round Bobby's back and helped him to his feet, "Are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah. Just need to sit down. You can go back to your boy toy."  
  
Rogue scowled, "Don't pull that on me. It's not fair."  
  
"Not fair? You done hurting me yet?"  
  
Rogue pulled away from him sharply causing him to stumble, "How was your date? Enjoy it?"  
  
"What? Oh, that."  
  
"Yes, that. Don't come the high and mighty with me. You don't have the right. Do you have any idea what I have been through for you and now you do this?"  
  
"What you have been through for me? What are you talking about?"  
  
"Nothing. Look, it's fine. I move on and you move on. But don't think that only you can do it."  
  
Bobby glared at her, "You're the one who broke up with me. Remember?"  
  
"I remember. It appears I was the one with a brain."  
  
She turned and stalked out of the room. Bobby was seething. Fine she wanted them to move on. They would both of them. And he wouldn't care. He wouldn't.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue lay on her front reading. It had been two weeks since the fight and she hadn't spoken to Bobby. Kitty had gone out for her date the next Saturday and then one the next Saturday. She always tried to come back and not talk about it. But Rogue could tell from the gleam in her eyes that she'd had a good time. It wasn't fair of her to be mad at him. She'd said they should move on and he had. She just . . .she didn't want to. She still loved him, she always would. She'd been prodded, poked, and tested for him. She wanted to be with him and now that she could, she couldn't.  
  
Rogue sighed, it was just so lousy.  
  
* * *  
  
She crept through the grounds of the school. They had a job to do, Mystique signalled over her shoulder and Magneto and Pyro followed her. They had to get the files.  
  
Pyro as it turned out had been an invaluable addition to the brotherhood. He had told Magneto about the files. They listed every official around the world, every person in power who was against mutants, and for that barbaric registration act. Magneto had decided; if they were unwilling to accept mutants, then they would have to be eliminated. But to do that, they needed to get the files. The people in the school, the students, the teachers, even Charles himself would fight. They would have to be careful.  
  
Pyro smiled, he was glad that he had been able to help. It made him feel valuable. Important, needed. He had only asked for one thing in return for the information and eternal loyalty, he wanted to get rid of the mutant who had nearly killed him. 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am poor; please don't sue.  
  
Distribution: Sure just tell me where.  
  
Rating: I'm not exactly sure how the system works in America. In England, it would be a 15, highest being an 18. Well, whatever one down from R is. I don't think this is heavy enough for an R. But then I don't exactly know what an R rating is. Advice anyone?  
  
Okay, chapter four. Thank you to my reviewers, who light up my day, you're all wonderful, I'd like to thank the academy, my famil . . . sorry, wrong speech. Enjoy. BTW, I know that Kitty is supposed to be younger than Bobby and Rogue, but for my story, she just not okay. Okay?  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby slipped his arm around her shoulder, "I love you. You seem to want to forget. But I'll always love you. If you'd told me about what you were planning to . . . I would have waited, I would wait for you forever."  
  
Rogue eyes filled with tears, "I just . . . didn't want to get your hopes up when it might not have worked."  
  
Bobby smiled t her, "But it did. It worked." Bobby reached down and took her hand in his. For the first time, he actually took her hand. Rogue entwined her fingers in his and brought them up to her mouth. She kissed his hand.  
  
Bobby wrapped his other arm round her waist, "Look at me." She looked into his eyes, "I love you. And nothing is going to separate us again. I swear."  
  
Bobby pulled her body to him and kissed her. Rogue dropped his hand and wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and she moaned gently. He rubbed the muscles in her back with fingers. After a second, she moved her hands downwards and slipped them under his t-shirt. She ran her hands over his stomach, and round to his back. She felt him shudder. He stepped back from her; she let him pull her shirt over her head. He looked down at her, "You're so beautiful. No wonder I love you so much."  
  
Rogue smiled, "No wonder." She pushed his shirt over his arms and head and then ran her fingers over his chest grazing his nipples with her nails. He moaned loudly and pulled her body to his again.  
  
After a second, she pulled him down onto the bed behind her. She lay under him, loving the feel of his skin underneath her fingers. God, she wanted him, she had wanted him for so long.  
  
Bobby rested on his elbows and looked down at her, "You can tell me to stop you know."  
  
She smiled up at him, "Don't stop."  
  
Bobby slid down and unbuttoned the fastening on her jeans, sliding them off her legs.  
  
Rogue reached forwards and undid the clasp on his. He stepped out of his pants and moved back over her body, she shivered in pleasure. There was banging in the background, but she didn't care. She had been waiting for this for a long time. No it wasn't a banging it was an alarm. It didn't matter. She kissed Bobby again. Holding him to her. The sound was getting louder.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue woke up clutching the quilt around her. The siren. The alarm, the Professor had put in after the invasion by the government, the new system. It had disturbed the best dream she'd had in a very long time. Her thoughts became a little more coherent as she woke up. The siren? Oh God. There was somebody in the mansion.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby woke. The siren? Oh, not again. He leapt out of bed and grabbed a shirt to put on with his boxers. He opened the door and was confronted by running people. After the recent tragedy, a new system had been put into place. When the alarm went off everyone was to go straight to a new wing of the mansion; one that had been built to house the indoor basketball and football courts. Now there were doors on it that would keep out a bomb. Bobby watched everyone who ran past. Rogue was not there. She might have gone before he had opened the door, but he had to check. He ran up the stairs.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue jumped out of bed and ran over to Kitty who was waking up, Kitty slept like the dead. Ju was already out of bed and pulling on her robe and slippers. "What going on?" Ju looked terrified, she had been one of the ones taken last time.  
  
"I don't know but we're going to find out." Rogue, with nothing on her feet, wearing only a strap top and shorts, beckoned to the others.  
  
Kitty was out of bed by now and the three of the opened the door and started quickly down the hall.  
  
* * *  
  
Magneto, flanked by Mystique walked down the corridor, "Well, my dear this time we might actually make some progress. I'm not saying that it wont be time consuming but we're going to get rid of them finally."  
  
Mystique smiled, "Are we close."  
  
Magneto put his hand on the doorknob of a room on his left, "Very close. Charles' office."  
  
Magneto pushed open the door.  
  
He walked in to find himself facing the Professor, Storm, Cyclops, and Night crawler.  
  
The Professor smiled at him pleasantly, "Can we help you?"  
  
Magneto glared, "I only want what I came for."  
  
"Yes I know. I know what you want."  
  
Magneto looked surprised, "You couldn't." He pointed with a finger to his helmet.  
  
The Professor pointed at Mystique, "She doesn't have a helmet. And you told her your whole plan. Same as you told John."  
  
"His name is Pyro."  
  
"Eric, you can either turn around and walk out of here, without the files. Or you can stay and fight. I will have the children alerted to the fact that there is no real danger and you can take on half of them, us and either die, or escape, still with out the plans, because they have been carefully hidden."  
  
Magneto sneered, "Why do you persist? I'm trying to help us all. I'm trying to stop us all becoming cattle."  
  
"I'll try it my way thank you."  
  
"And you expect me to believe that you're going to let me walk out of here?"  
  
"In case you have forgotten Eric, you proved more dangerous to me when you were in prison. Just turn around an . . ."  
  
The Professor's face went blank for a moment, "What is he going to do?"  
  
Magneto realised what the Professor meant almost immediately, "Pyro doesn't take kindly to having his powers stolen by a girl. Is she dead yet."  
  
"Storm, Night crawler, go and find Rogue."  
  
The two X-men hurried out of the room.  
  
Magneto smiled, "Goodbye then, old friend. Until next time"  
  
* * *  
  
Ju was ahead of the other two as she sprinted down the hall. Kitty could have been there and back three times by now but she wanted to stay with her friends. The other two were trying to catch up with their athletic friend when they suddenly saw her fall to the floor; something had swung out from a doorway and knocked her out. The other two stopped dead. John appeared as he stepped out, Rogue froze, "John? What're you doing here?"  
  
John smirked, "My name is Pyro and I'm here for you."  
  
"I don't understand. What do you want?"  
  
Pyro did not intend to kill her. He wasn't a murderer, not yet anyway. He wanted to take her with him. She might prove valuable. Anyway, she had stolen his powers. Better to have her in their possession than on the other team. "You almost killed me. You stole my powers from me and you almost killed me. Did you think that I'd just let it rest there? Don't be stupid."  
  
Pyro lifted a hand; he didn't have time to do anything with it. Bobby came from round the corner and crashed straight into him, tackling him to the floor. Pyro didn't hesitate, he lifted a hand and stuck his lighter catching the flame in his hand, and bringing it up he shot it at Bobby.  
  
Iceman came out to play and he and Pyro kept up the fight.  
  
Rogue watched in horror. Then she slipped a hand up the back of her top and pressed the red circle in the centre of the silver disk. It came off in a second and fell into her hand. She put it on a bureau and went to help Bobby. She couldn't get close enough. The fire and ice was shooting round the hallway. She was getting frustrated, trying to help and not being able to do anything.  
  
Rogue felt something warm. It was all over her body, it was the feeling she got when she was touching someone and draining them. Was this what the professor had meant. She focussed and stretched out her hand to Pyro, and then . . .she pulled. There was no other way to describe what she was doing. For a few seconds nothing happened. Then she saw veins appear on Pyro's face, he tried to throw fire at Bobby, but he couldn't it disappeared from his hand. It wasn't his anymore. She carried on pulling until she saw him drop to the floor unconscious. She stopped.  
  
Bobby watched in shock. Since when had Rogue been able to do that? He watched as she walked over to the table and picked up what looked like a large coin. She stood still for a second as she held the thing behind her back. She shuddered and then opened her eyes.  
  
Kitty was staring at her in surprise. Bobby would have kept staring, except that his body had apparently had enough punishment. He dropped to his knees, and passed out.  
  
* * *  
  
Magneto found them before Storm and Night crawler did. He took one look at them all. Pyro, unconscious with burns all over his body. Kitty was shaking with fright at what she had seen, and at the very sight of the older man. Iceman was also unconscious, fewer burns, but still enough. And Rogue, the young girl he had very nearly killed himself, stroking Iceman's face, trying to persuade him to wake up.  
  
He picked up Pyro and walked away. There was always tomorrow to try again. 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own nothing; I live in a box and write these stories for my reader's pleasure.  
  
Distribution: Sure just tell me where.  
  
Rating: See last one.  
  
Okay, quite a busy one last chapter. I think I have actually picked an ending now, I had about seven in my head. There may be a sequel to this if enough people ask me nicely and have ritual sacrifices. Okay, so where were we? Oh, yes. Rogue had just advanced a little with her power. Iceman and Pyro had a run in and Kitty is standing around looking scared, I'm up to date.  
  
Quick note: I have written the last three chapters and now this one in one day. I have only just gotten to the reviews and I have now learned, (thanks to my wonderful reviewers keep 'em comin') that Aurora Monroe is actually Ororo. It will be changed from here on out and I'll change it in the others when I have a spare minute. Thanks all.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue held Bobby's hand and stroked his face, "Come on, please wake up please."  
  
Bobby moaned in pain, but his eyes didn't open, "Rogue?"  
  
"Yes, yes I'm here."  
  
"Are you holding my hand?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then why am I not dead?"  
  
Bobby's eyes slid open and he stared into her face, "I . . .I . . .well, the Professor and Ororo and Scott, they decided to try and find a way to combat my mutation. They did. I wear something now and I don't . . .drain."  
  
"Tell that to Pyro. Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"About the not draining or about the draining from a distance."  
  
"Both, but number one more than two."  
  
"Well I only did that thing to Pyro for the first time tonight. And I didn't know if it was right to tell you about the first one. Cause, you know, you moved on."  
  
Bobby's answer was cut off by the arrival of Storm and Night crawler. Kitty stood there. She could see now. Ju had been right. Bobby still loved Rogue and Rogue still loved Bobby . . . well, why the hell hadn't they just said so? Bobby had been using her really and that hurt, but if had wanted to break up, sure she would have been disappointed but she wouldn't really have cared.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby was sat up in bed. He was healing quickly thanks to Storm and his ability to keep his skin cool. But if his skin had been blistering all over, he wouldn't have cared. Rogue was able to touch people. He didn't know whether to hug her, or yell at her for not telling him straight away. He hadn't even had an opportunity to talk to her. She had been spirited away to the Professor as soon as she had told Storm what she had done. He really needed to talk to her. He needed to touch her, and tell her that he loved her.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue sat in the Professor's office. She was oddly nervous. She hadn't done anything wrong and she knew that, but she was still nervous. "So, Professor. What do you think?"  
  
The Professor smiled at her, "I know that saying I told you say is intensely childish, but I'm afraid I won't be able to resist. You have the power inside of you Rogue. You can make good use of it. You can make it work for the good. That's what we want you to do. We . . .I want to help you."  
  
Rogue nodded, "I know, I just . . .I didn't want to believe that there may be more. More damage that I could do."  
  
"That's the point Rogue, we're going to make sure that what you do isn't bad. You saved somebody and you didn't do any permanent damage to anyone else."  
  
"I didn't?"  
  
"No, John's fine. I know."  
  
Rogue sighed in relief, "Oh. You don't know how much of a weight that is off of my back."  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby was pissed off, "Where is she? What is going on?"  
  
Ororo took a deep breath, she didn't know how much Bobby had been told by Rogue and it wasn't her place to tell him anything that she didn't want him to know. "Look, I'm sure that she'll be back soon."  
  
Bobby took a breath, "All right fine. Can I just . . .I want to get some sleep."  
  
She nodded and left.  
  
Bobby counted to twenty, grabbed his shirt and walked out of the room.  
  
* * *  
  
He hadn't gone ten paces and he almost ran into Kitty, before he could say anything she spoke, "Why did you do that? Why didn't you just be honest?"  
  
Bobby tried to focus on the here and now, "What?"  
  
"You asked me out."  
  
Bobby was genuinely confused, "Yeah . . ."  
  
"I don't appreciate being asked out by someone who's in love with someone else."  
  
Bobby flushed, "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean . . .I just wanted to get over her and well . . ."  
  
Kitty's eyes flashed, "You thought that I'd be a good rebound girl?"  
  
"I wouldn't put it quite like that."  
  
"Well, that's how I would put it." Her face softened, "You two . . .your meant to be together. Now stop messing each other about, act your age and talk to her."  
  
Bobby smiled to himself as she walked away. Yeah, Kitty was all right.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue came out of the Professor's office. She was okay with that, it was probably going to be hard work, but that was okay. Her mind was still on her new training program when she heard someone saw her name, "Rogue."  
  
She looked up and saw Bobby, "Hey. How're you feeling?"  
  
Bobby looked down at the bandage on his arm as though he hadn't seen it before, "I'm okay. A little bit of pain, but it's okay. I wanted to talk to you."  
  
"What about?" She was begging whichever God was listening.  
  
"Well . . ." he walked another step towards her; "Well . . ." Bobby didn't hesitate, not any longer. He had wanted her for so long. He was sick of waiting. They deserved this. They deserved each other.  
  
He quickly closed the distance between them; wrapping his arms around her waist he pulled her body to him and kissed her. Rogue didn't hesitate either. She wrapped her arms around his neck and moaned as she felt his tongue touch her lip and she opened her mouth. She rubbed his back with her hands. She never wanted him to let her go, this is what she wanted forever. Him; nothing else. If she could have him in her life forever, she would never want anything else.  
  
Bobby gripped her back. If he had his way he was never going to let her leave his side ever again. He massaged her tongue with his. God, he loved her. She was perfect. He knew that it was late and soon she would have to go to her room. He wasn't entirely sure that he could stand it if she did. He pulled away from her mouth and just crushed her body against his.  
  
She tucked her head underneath his chin and trembled slightly as she touched his bare arms. She held him. She didn't want to leave him, but it was late.  
  
"Rogue?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Stay with me tonight?"  
  
"Are we allowed?"  
  
"I don't care." Bobby took her hand. They walked together up to his room. "At least the plus side of John being gone is that I have my own room."  
  
As soon as the door was shut, Bobby pulled her to him again. She moaned, touching him. Moaning as she felt him. For the first time today she could touch him and not be afraid. She ran her hand down his arm and felt him flinch at the burn. She pulled away, "Oh, God, are you okay?"  
  
"Never felt better. Will you stay? Just stay?"  
  
Rogue smiled, "Hell, yes."  
  
Bobby pushed her shirt off her shoulders and then she pushed his t-shirt up and over his arms.  
  
When they were both only clad in there underwear they climbed into the bed. She curled herself round his body and laid her head on his chest. "I love you."  
  
He smiled down at her, "I love you too. So much."  
  
He wrapped his arms over her as she traced patterns on his chest. She sighed, God she wanted this. She had wanted this for a very long time.  
  
Bobby just kept running her hands over her arms. He didn't need anything else.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue woke the next morning and she kept her eyes closed, when she opened them, it was all going to be another dream. Nothing could possibly be as perfect as this. He stirred underneath her and her eyes flew open. She lifted her head and stared at him as he woke, he was beautiful. He opened his eyes and looked at her, "Hey."  
  
She smiled at him, "What time is it?"  
  
He looked at his watch, "Eight twenty."  
  
She groaned, "Does that mean we have to move?"  
  
He pulled her up his body, "Not if you don't want to, we'll stay here all day if you want."  
  
"Can we?"  
  
He kissed her, "We've earned it."  
  
Rogue kissed him, "Let's just stay here forever."  
  
"Whatever. By the way, you never told me. What is it that you've got now to stop you draining?"  
  
"I'll show you," Rogue climbed out of the bed and turned round. Bobby was having serious trouble focusing on anything other than her ass but he tried. There was a metal disk on her back.  
  
"Wow. Does it hurt?"  
  
"No. It doesn't really feel like anything."  
  
"Quite frankly, I wouldn't care if it turns you green as long as I can touch you."  
  
Rogue crawled back into bed, "I love you."  
  
"I love you more."  
  
* * *  
  
They spent the whole day curled up on the bed, eating junk food that Bobby had stashed around the room. Just kissing and holding hands. It was the best day that either of them had ever had. Or at least it was until there was a knock on the door.  
  
Rogue hid behind the door and Bobby opened it, it was Scott, "Hey Bobby, you haven't been in any of your lessons. It's not a problem I know that you've been injured, we just wanted to make sure that you were okay."  
  
Bobby smiled, "Yeah, just a little bit rough. Should be fine for tomorrow."  
  
Scott nodded, "I don't suppose you've seen Rogue have you? She hasn't been I lessons either."  
  
Bobby shrugged, "Can't help you."  
  
Scott nodded, "Okay, so long as you'll be there tomorrow, I won't tell you that you'd be better hiding Rogue somewhere where she isn't reflected in the mirror."  
  
Bobby looked behind him in the mirror and could see Rogue. She waved at him and Scott in an embarrassed kind of way.  
  
Scott waved back, "Just be back at classes tomorrow."  
  
"Thanks"  
  
* * *  
  
"Can I stay tonight? I'll go and get clothing for tomorrow?"  
  
Bobby moved and slipped his arms around her, "Took the words right out of my mouth."  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue was laid on Bobby's chest, just touching him. She ran her hand down his chest and over his stomach, to the line of his boxers. Bobby quivered underneath her hand, "Are you trying to kill me?"  
  
"What?" She lifted her head and frowned in confusion.  
  
"I have been wanting to touch you for like, ever and now you're torturing me."  
  
Bobby was smiling but Rogue was serious, "I don't want to torture you. I want to be with you."  
  
Bobby looked surprised, "Do you mean. . ?"  
  
Before he could finish his sentence, Rogue cut him off with a kiss. She pressed her hands to his chest. After a second she slid her hand down and her fingers under the waistband of his shorts.  
  
Bobby put his hands on her shoulders and gently pressed her away, "You don't have to do this . . .I mean I want to. But we don't have to."  
  
She smiled up at him, "I want to. I want you."  
  
Bobby didn't dare to breath. She wanted him? He pulled her up to meet his lips and kissed the breath out of her. She moaned against him gripping his shoulders and arm.  
  
His fingers found the clasp of her bra and undid the strap as she pushed his shorts down his legs. Her panties followed and the held one another as they kissed passionately.  
  
It didn't hurt as much as she thought it would, his eyes stayed fixed on hers as they made love. He stroked the side of her face and clutched her back.  
  
Rogue gripped Bobby's shoulders hard enough to leave finger marks as she came down. Her eyes never left his until a few seconds later when he collapsed into her arms shaking, holding her tightly.  
  
* * *  
  
The next day was absolute torture for them both. He wanted to touch her and she wanted to touch him, apparently that wasn't going to happen. They kept looking at each other and smiling. She was going to ask the Professor tonight. If he said yes . . . Bobby was practically praying for a yes. 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing.  
  
Distribution: Sure just tell me where.  
  
Rating: Nothing too strong, PG 15 maybe?  
  
Thank to a reviewer called Jessie who said really nice things. I don't mind constructive criticism, but compliments make me write way faster, lol.  
  
Someone mentioned typing mistakes sometimes. Holding up my hand and completely agreeing. I'll try and improve but if anyone out there feels like being an angel and becoming a beta reader, maybe another author who I would return the favour to? Just an idea. If anyone would like to volunteer, you know the e-mail address, (it's below).  
  
Someone asked me if they could have the story for their site, I think the name was ultimate-marie-de'canto, or something like that. Sure, you can. Just send me an e-mail at christinakeane730@hotmail.com. I tried to reply and let you know that it was fine but when I clicked reply, I nearly sent it to the fanfiction site. Also, if you want the NC-17 version let me know and I'll send you the story at your e-mail address. I tried to contact you, by coincidence as another writer mentioned you in their story (the address I copied must have been wrong) and said you wanted fic. Isn't the world a small place?  
  
Okay, we're getting into the action part of the story. You remember the files? The files containing information on the officials around the world against mutants? Well then . . .  
  
Thank to all of my reviewers, you're all wonderful. Please keep them coming. They make me right way faster than I normally would.  
  
* * *  
  
Kitty straightened up, only one last place to check. She went through to Jean Grey's old room. Scott had moved out. He wasn't able to stay there. Kitty looked around the room, and checked all the drawers and cupboards. In the bottom of the closet there were several disks and files. She'd found them. Kitty walked out of the mansion and down to the edge of the complex where Magneto was waiting, "They were in the dead one's room."  
  
Magneto smiled, "Good work my dear."  
  
Kitty smiled as her skin turned blue. Mystique's face appeared, "I always do my best."  
  
* * *  
  
"Do I even need to ask you Professor? You know what I'm going to say."  
  
The Professor smile at Rogue, "I know what you're going to ask."  
  
"Any chance that you might agree?"  
  
"If I said no, what would you do?"  
  
Rogue flushed and looked down, "I . . .don't . . ."  
  
"Yes you do know. You're in love. If I tried to keep you apart you'd probably leave. I don't really want that to happen. You're both eighteen. There is no reason why you shouldn't if you are determined. But you know that it is up to you to be discreet in front of all of the other students."  
  
Rogue couldn't stop here face breaking out into a grin, "Thank you Professor."  
  
"I'm very pleased for you Rogue, you've earned it."  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby was pacing his room, the Professor might say no. It would not be good. He wanted this so badly, he felt like they deserved to be together. On the one hand he was almost sure that the Professor would see their point and agree, but on the other hand, the guy was trying to run an educational establishment and might see it as too much.  
  
The waiting was driving him absolutely crazy. Absolutely crazy. He carried on pacing. They had not been able to be alone for a few minutes at a time since they had spent that first night together. Bobby smiled; she had been amazing. They had been amazing, together. He glanced down and decided maybe he had better think about something other than the way Rogue had cried out as he had touched her . . .when he had . . .Bobby shook his head.  
  
Think about something else. Quickly, like the way his stomach was clenching with nerves over what the Professor might say.  
  
Bobby stopped pacing and headed for the door, that was it, he couldn't take it anymore. He pulled the door open and started down the long hallway, just as Rogue came running around the other corner, he called out to her, "Rogue?"  
  
She lifted her head and met his eyes, for a few seconds she didn't say anything, then her face broke into her smile, she nodded her head and ran towards him.  
  
Bobby smiled and sighed in relief and met her, flinging his arms around her, he lifted her off her feet and swung her round in a circle, "Oh God. He really said yes? He really meant it?"  
  
Rogue pulled back and looked at him, "Yes, he said yes. We can. I didn't really even have to ask. He knew what I was going to ask. He just said yes. I can move in with you." Bobby smiled and pulled him to her for a kiss. She moaned and rubbed her hands down his back, "You know, this means, a room to ourselves, with no one there. I know that it's kinda hard to not be touchy feely in class, but if we know that we can go back to our own room any and every night, we may be able to restrain ourselves a little more."  
  
Bobby looked at her with a twinkle in his eye, "You want me to be restrained?"  
  
She smiled back, and took his hand, leading him into THEIR bedroom. She closed the door behind them, "I never want you to be restrained," she pulled her shirt over her head and stepped out of her pants.  
  
Bobby looked at her for a second. He couldn't believe that this beautiful, perfect girl loved and wanted to be loved by him. She was amazing; he had never loved anyone or anything as much as he loved this girl. He slipped his hands over her waist and pulled her towards him kissing her fiercely.  
  
This time was different; their first time together had been gentle, beautiful, loving. This time was no less loving, but it was passionate. They clung to each other, and cried out as they held on and rocked together.  
  
Afterwards they didn't move at first. Rogue sat astride Bobby and he was leant against the headboard. Their eyes stayed together always. Rogue reached out with a hand and stroked down the side of his face.  
  
Bobby was surprised at the expression on her face. She was looking at him as though he was the most beautiful and precious thing in the world. She ran her fingers over his cheek and lips, just touching him. She smiled at him and leaned forward to kiss him.  
  
Bobby rubbed his hands over her naked skin. This was right. This was how it should be, they were right together, "I love you. You know that right?"  
  
She smiled a little sleepily, "I love you too and yeah, I know it."  
  
He kissed her again as they curled up together and fell asleep.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby lugged the box down the hall, as Rogue carried two pairs of pants down the hall, "How is it that I'm carrying a box that must weigh about three tones and your carrying two pairs of pants?"  
  
Rouge turned around and smiled at her boyfriend, "Because you love me. And beside, aren't you meant to be a big strong man?"  
  
Bobby smiled at her, "And it's a very good job."  
  
Rogue leaned over the box to plant a kiss on his lips when Logan came up the stairs, "What are you two doing?"  
  
Rogue turned her head and looked at him, "Making out?"  
  
Logan smiled sarcastically, "I meant with the boxes."  
  
Rogue looked down as though she was only just remembering that they were there, "Oh, I'm moving into Bobby's room with him. I had no idea I had so much stuff, I have quite a lot."  
  
Bobby leant his weight on the boxes out of breath, "Believe me she's not kidding. I had no idea, any one person could have this much stuff."  
  
Logan had a very strange look on his face, "Rogue, will you do me a favour and see if Jubilee's around. I wanted to speak to her."  
  
Rogue nodded, "Sure, I'll just leave the pants in the box."  
  
Bobby glared at her but grinned at the same time. Rogue disappeared round the corner and Logan turned to Bobby. "So."  
  
Bobby, who had been following Rogue's retreating form looked back to Logan, "So? What's up?"  
  
"Rogue moving into your room? I assume you can do this because John's left?"  
  
"Yeah, we asked the Professor, and he said that he didn't see a problem as long as we are discreet in front of the other students. I think he saw it as a potential benefit."  
  
"How's that?"  
  
"Well, if we have our own room we don't have to hide in the mop closet to . . ."  
  
Logan cut him off, "Okay, don't need any more details."  
  
Bobby tried not to smile to obviously, "Sorry."  
  
Logan took a deep breath, "Look, Rogue's not a kid and she is perfectly capable of making her own decisions."  
  
"I'm glad that we agree."  
  
Logan nodded, "But unfortunately as you get older and wiser you don't lose the potential to get hurt by people. I know that you care about her," Logan paused, "In fact I think that you love her, but the point is Rogue is the closest thing that I have to family. I don't want to se her hurt. She has had enough of that."  
  
Bobby fixed Logan with a stare, "I wont hurt her I swear. And you're right I do love her."  
  
Logan reached out and put a hand on Bobby's shoulder, "I trust you with her. And I will keep on trusting you with her." He paused as though searching for the right words, "Just don't give me a reason not to."  
  
Bobby smiled, "That seems fair. I wont."  
  
"So, you want a hand?"  
  
Bobby sighed, "I would be eternally grateful. You have no idea how much stuff she has."  
  
"Hey when I first met her all she had on her was a duffel bag and her coat."  
  
"God I wish that's all she now. It's a good job I have a damn big room."  
  
Logan looked at him, "What about John?"  
  
Bobby grit his teeth, "He tried to kill Rogue and then me. He chose the other side."  
  
Logan nodded, "Okay."  
  
Rogue came back around the corner, "Hey, how're we doing?"  
  
The two men hefted the box between them with no trouble, and Bobby smiled, "I think that we're doing better."  
  
Logan looked around, "Where's Jubilee?"  
  
Rogue shrugged, "You didn't really want to talk to her, you and Bobby just needed to have 'the talk'. Anyway, I'll go and pack the next box for you guys to move. There's three waiting for you."  
  
Bobby sighed. Logan just looked embarrassed.  
  
* * *  
  
"We probably should look into getting a double bed."  
  
Rogue looked at the single in the corner of the room, "I don't know, having a single means that we're all . . .snugly."  
  
Bobby grinned, "We can still be snugly . . .just with more leg room."  
  
She smiled back, "Okay, we'll look into it."  
  
Bobby looked at his watch, "You know I can blow this whole thing off if you want."  
  
"Bobby, you're a good player, the basketball team needs all of them that we can get. Besides you love basketball."  
  
"I love you more."  
  
"And I love you more than that. But the point is, you've been looking forward to joining the team for ages, I don't want you to stop because of me. And anyway, aren't we supposed to do separate things? Isn't that supposed to be the healthy way? See? This is me trying to be healthy and not keep you all to myself."  
  
Bobby leant down, "Don't worry I'll resist the basketball's charms."  
  
She kissed him and smiled, "You'd better had Mister."  
  
Running his hand over her cheek, "Are you going to start on the unpacking?"  
  
She looked very serious, "Only when I can no longer find an excuse to put it off."  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue looked around the room, Bobby was right; they were going to need another bed. This one really wasn't big enough for the two of them long term. She flopped down and thought for a minute. There was no way that they could afford to buy a new one and she didn't want to ask the Professor, it was their problem. Rogue thought for a minute and then had an inspiration. She moved all the stuff that she had brought down from her room into as tight a corner as it would go and then she left the room. When she got to the TV room, she found him, "Logan?"  
  
He turned round at her voice, "Hey, what's up? Tell me there aren't more boxes?"  
  
"Oh how funny. And no, there aren't. I was wondering if you could give me a hand with something."  
  
Logan looked doubtful, "Oh God. What now?"  
  
She put on her sweetest smile and a sickly sweet voice, "I was wondering if da big bad wolf would help me move a bed?"  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby came up the stairs. He had made the team. He was glad that he had, but now he wanted to go back to his room and curl up with his girlfriend in his . . .what the hell?  
  
* * *  
  
Okay, so they had managed to get the damn thing down two flights of stairs. It had become obvious very early on that it wasn't going to fit into the lift, so Logan and Rogue had dragged and pushed it down the stairs, with Logan at the bottom taking it's weight and Rogue above trying to steer.  
  
It had been a good idea in theory, until Rogue had pushed left instead of right and Logan nearly broke three of his fingers. If he'd been the type to get easily hurt she might have felt guilty, instead she said something, which Logan thought was very unhelpful, along the lines of, 'oh, well you've got seven more'.  
  
Now they were trying to get it through the bedroom door, which was apparently thinner than Rogue's old room, where they had gotten the bed in the first place. Rogue's first idea had been to use Pyro's bed, but after what had happened, she knew that Bobby wouldn't like it. They had checked with Scott and he had said that it would be fine to move John's bed down to the basement, and Kitty and Ju were pleased to have more space, so it worked out nicely.  
  
Now if they could only get the damn thing actually through the door they might be getting somewhere. Rogue looked at Logan's end, "Maybe if we tipped it diagonally we might be able to get it through?"  
  
Logan sighed, "We tried that. The problem is this door. It's only going to open so far with the hinge the way it is and we're not taking doors off. If we get it at just the right angle, we could get it through. So when I say now just lift. LIFT!"  
  
Both of them lifted, unfortunately Rogue couldn't hold it and dropped the bed onto her own foot.  
  
Bobby laughed as she swore quite strongly, "I'd offer to help but you two seem to be having such fun."  
  
Rogue grinned and Logan just glared, "Did you put this idea in her head? I nearly lost fingers on the stairs."  
  
Bobby waved a hand dismissively, "Ah you got more."  
  
Rogue laughed, "That's what I said, that's what I said."  
  
The two laughed as Logan held onto the bed, "Do you think that we could try and get this thing through the door sometime tonight?"  
  
* * *  
  
Once the bed was through, Logan had only stayed long enough to push it against the other and then practically ran out of the door. Rogue giggled as he fled, "Sorry, I wanted it to be a surprise."  
  
They both flopped onto the beds, "It was, a very funny one."  
  
"I thought that we could push them together and just put double sheets on top. It should do for a while anyway."  
  
Bobby suddenly went serious, "Thanks."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For not . . .you know . . .using John's bed."  
  
She smiled. It still cut Bobby, she could tell, that one of their friend's would betray them like that. She reached out and took his hand, trying to change the subject, as quickly as was possible, "So, now we need to put sheets on and start unpacking I kept the wardrobe. We'll need it."  
  
Bobby chuckled, "You really would do anything to avoid unpacking alone wouldn't you?"  
  
"Yep, speaking of . . ."  
  
"I made the team."  
  
"Yay, good. Okay, lets get started."  
  
* * *  
  
He stood outside the window of the Senator Porter Mitchell. Rather, he floated. Magneto looked around the room as the Senator practised a speech he was preparing to make tomorrow. A speech supporting the Mutant Registration Act. The very idea filled him with rage. He had been there, and done that. There was no way that he was going to be punished like that again, punished for no reason. Magneto spotted a silver letter opener. He did not enjoy killing, it wasn't a pleasure, but now it was a necessity. He moved his hand and the letter opened buried itself in the Senator's chest, over and over and over again, until he stopped moving.  
  
Magneto moved down and landed on the grass gently beside Mystique, "It's done my dear."  
  
"What about the boy? There must be a way to make these death's look like accidents. Wouldn't he be the best way?"  
  
Magneto thought for a moment, "I think he must be. The boy has massive potential. But we mustn't rush him. He will only be useful if he is taken care of. I plan to see to that."  
  
Turning he walked away. Mystique paused for a moment and looked up at the room where the Senator was now lying dead, she spoke softly before she followed Eric, "Four down. A lot to go." 


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Everything, in the story is the property of someone who isn't me.  
  
Distribution: Sure just let me know where it's going.  
  
I'm hoping today to change all my chapters round so that Aurora becomes Ororo and so on, I should soon have a beta reader, I hope. To those people who requested the NC-17 version; I'm sending them today. If I can I will get them all out, but I'm only sending the relevant chapters, so please come back here to review, please! Or just e-mail me.  
  
Back to our story, The bad guys, are taking out officials who are against mutants, and Pyro's being groomed by Magneto, however he's about to develop and unhealthy fixation with Rogue.  
  
* * *  
  
Pyro lay on his bed. Twice, she had taken his powers twice. Bitch! There was no way she was going to get away with it. He just wasn't sure what he going to do about it. She didn't even need to touch anyone now. She just did it from a distance. When he had told Magneto, the older man had been worried. After all, if she was able to get this far, to steal powers from a distance, who knew what else she might get.  
  
Pyro knew what it was like to have all your power pulled out of you, so did Magneto; it was not a pleasant experience. It wasn't like Magneto's helmet. The Professor accessed minds. Rogue's power was physical, not mental. There was no reason why it shouldn't grow to proportions dangerous to them.  
  
Something would have to be done. Magneto was sure that her power wasn't to the stage where it was a danger yet, and that meant whatever they were going to do it would have to be soon. The Professor was not stupid he would see the potential in her . . .except that he would see potential for good. Magneto saw potential danger.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue sat in the Professor's office . . .again. This was getting to be a habit. She was about to start her training. The Professor apparently had high hopes for her. She was just nervous. She had not forgotten the damage that she had been able to do in the past, she less than anxious to find out what else she could learn to do.  
  
She cast her mind over the last few days. She was happier than she had ever been in her whole life. If someone had told her four months ago, that she could be as happy as she was now she would have thought that they were absolutely crazy. Every minute she spent with Bobby seemed to make her love him more. And she didn't even think that that was possible. And he loved her. Rogue smiled with out even knowing she did it. Then the Professor closed his desk drawer and turned his attention to her, "Rogue. In understand that you must be very nervous about this. I know that in your past you have, through no fault of your own, hurt people you care for. Well, this is not that. This is using your power for the side of good. It would be a waste not to at least try and see if you can harness your power."  
  
Rogue nodded, "I want to help in any way that I can."  
  
The Professor smiled, "Good, I'm glad. Now, you have already gone some way to control. Why don't you tell me exactly what happened when you pulled John's power from him without any skin contact?"  
  
Rogue took a deep breath, "Well, when Bobby and Pyr . . .John were fighting, I wanted to help. They were going to keep it up until one of them was dead; I didn't want that for either of them, especially not Bobby. I pressed the red button in the centre of my disk and I took it off.  
  
"I tried to get close enough to touch John, thinking I could stop him. They were using their powers against each other and I couldn't get close enough to John. Then . . .I felt something; like I was already draining him. It wasn't nearly as strong as it is when I touch, but then I reached out and . . .pulled. The feeling was the same strength. I just kept pulling until he fell and then I stopped so that I didn't kill him."  
  
The Professor thought for a second, "It seems likely that this new strength was acquired because of your fear for Bobby's safety. It means that we have to find a way for you to harness that power."  
  
"But Professor, I can't even practice. I mean who's going to be the guinea pig? There's no other way, is there?"  
  
He shook his head, "You could practise on an animal, but it would be different and cruel in any case. I was proposing that I be your subject."  
  
Rogue was horrified, "You want me to practise on you? I couldn't. We don't even know if there would be long term side effects, especially if I did it more than once."  
  
"Rogue, that is my risk and one that I'm prepared to take. I have faith that you will be able to stop, and that I will be fine."  
  
"Professor, I couldn't. I wont. It's too dangerous."  
  
Professor Xavier leant on his desk, looking very grave, "Rogue, we need every mutant to help us. The ones that we really need are those with an offensive power. Kitty for example, she could be incredibly useful in covert ways, but if it came to fighting, her powers are limited. You on the other hand, have the potential to be very powerful and to help others by using it.  
  
"If you hadn't used your powers one of the two young men would almost certainly have died, maybe both. Others die because we don't have those who can fight. I am planning meetings with several others, including Bobby; he also has an offensive power, to consider joining the X-men, at least in certain circumstances. This is not about just me or you, but others. I am asking you to try. That is all, just to try."  
  
Rogue hesitated, but she nodded.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue stood in the centre of the office. The Professor was sat in front of her in his wheel chair. She took a deep breath, and reached out to him. Rogue closed her eyes and focused. She must have stood there for six or seven minutes until she felt a kind of heat spreading slowly through her. Rogue centred on the feeling and pulled.  
  
Before she was sure what had happened, a noise started in her head. At first, she thought that other students must be running and yelling down the hall outside the office and she didn't realise where it was coming from. She opened her eyes, the Professor looked fine so she kept pulling. After a moment, the noise got louder. So much louder, that she stumbled and almost fell. She stopped concentrating and put her hand to her head. "Rogue? Rogue, are you okay? Rogue?"  
  
There was no pain. It didn't hurt her; it was just like someone was yelling at her from inside her head. They were yelling, but it sounded like a mumbled yelling. It took her a few seconds to realise that the noise was many voices, they were all speaking, or . . .thinking. She was hearing everyone's thoughts. From the sound of it, it was everyone in the entire school. Rogue shook her head and looked at the Professor who was himself looking shaken, "I . . .think it worked."  
  
The Professor nodded a little breathlessly, "I think you're right. I take it you suddenly got a taste of my power?"  
  
Rogue nodded, "I'm still getting it. How do you think straight with that noise in your head all day?"  
  
"It came on slowly as I grew up, and I learned to block it out and control it. Do you realise that now for the first time in years I don't hear a thing?"  
  
Rogue smiled, "Sorry."  
  
"No. I don't think I could get used to it, but I'd almost forgotten what silence sounded like. It's surprising, it's like being in a crowded room and having a conversation, you're aware of others but you don't really hear them. In fact I have to focus to pick one out of the din."  
  
"I don't envy you Professor."  
  
He met her eyes and smiled, "I don't envy you either."  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue knew that this little power boost wouldn't last too long, and she couldn't help but be glad. The Professor may be used to it but she wasn't. It was noisy, though she could hear one at a time if she was near to the person, she learned this when Bobby met her in the hallway.  
  
"Rogue! Hey, everything okay? How did it go?" At least that's what his mouth said. His thoughts were more like, 'God she is so beautiful. No wonder I love her so much. I wonder if it's too early to suggest a trip to the bedroom?'  
  
Rogue tried to force herself not to giggle, "It went good. Can we go back to our room and talk about it there? It's kinda private, I don't want everyone in the school knowing about my training."  
  
Bobby nodded, "Sure. But you're okay?" Rogue watched his face as his thoughts carried on, 'Just because she wants to go back to the room doesn't mean you're getting any. She's just had a stressful training session, there is no way she's going to be in the mood.'  
  
Rogue took pity on his and took his hand, leaning over and whispering in his ear, "I thought maybe you and I could . . .relax. What do you think?"  
  
Bobby's grip on her hand tightened, "Yeah, we could do that." She forced down her giggles as she listened, 'Yes! He shoots he scores, she really is perfect.'  
  
Rogue opened the door of their room and let him pass before shutting it behind them.  
  
* * *  
  
They lay on the bed about forty minutes later, "So how did it go? Really?"  
  
Rogue looked into his face, she couldn't hear anything but the sound of his voice, she was kinda glad, it might have been a bit of an invasion, "It went well. It really did. I got a taste of the Professor's power cause I managed to drain it across the room."  
  
Bobby was surprised, "You drained the Professor? Isn't that dangerous?"  
  
"That's what it thought. But he gave me this speech about the greater good. It convinced me."  
  
Bobby was about to say something but instead he just went pale, "You mean you had the Professor's power when you saw me in the hall?"  
  
She looked up into his face and smiled cheekily, "Yep. And who has a filthy mind then?"  
  
Bobby blushed, "Oh God. So embarrassing."  
  
"That you want me? Not embarrassing. Flattering."  
  
Bobby grinned, "Hey, imagine how it feels to always think like that."  
  
She smiled, "Who says I don't?"  
  
* * *  
  
They were curled up together on the downstairs sofa. It was the only room in the house where everyone could meet to do homework, watch TV, or just hang out, without being cramped together, so close they could barely move. The news was on. The blonde newscaster was talking about a hurricane. Bobby had one arm draped around his girlfriend's shoulder as he read his psychology book. Rogue had finished hers earlier in the day during a free period and was curled to his side listening to the TV.  
  
Or rather, she was relaxing, trying to take in what was going on in the world, ' . . .and in breaking news, Senator Porter Mitchell, was found dead in his hotel room. . .' Rogue's interest was aroused, he had been one of the major speakers against mutants, vicious with it too, 'He had been stabbed seven times in the chest with his own silver letter open. According to police sources, this incident is not at present being officially connected to the recent murders of other officials across the country. But there are similar circumstances that are being investigated.  
  
Congresswoman Ruth Andrews was murdered four days ago, found in her car, she had suffered severe head injuries from a tire iron.  
  
In New York, a Judge was crushed to death by a car last week.  
  
And a minister was found to have been stabbed, in his own home, with a knife from his own kitchen only two days ago. No fingerprints have been found on any murder weapons or the bodies or the car. There have been no witnesses or any other physical evidence. The investigation is ongoing.'  
  
Rogue thought. Bobby felt the change in her body as she tensed up, "Hey, what's wrong?"  
  
"That news bulletin. A senator was killed. Others as well."  
  
Bobby frowned, "Bad. But what's bothering you about this specifically?"  
  
"I was on the internet a few days ago and I was looking at a list of officials who want something heavy done about mutants. At least two of those people were on the list. I just glanced but two definitely were."  
  
Bobby caught on quickly, "You think that's why they were killed?"  
  
"Yeah . . .but . . .worse than that."  
  
"How so?"  
  
She turned and looked at him, "A letter opener, a kitchen knife, a tire iron and even a car. What are they all made of?"  
  
Bobby sighed, "Metal, Magneto maybe?"  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby knocked on the door to Logan's room. Rogue was stood with him. They wanted another opinion. They wanted to know if they were jumping to conclusions. Logan would give them a straight answer, he came to the door quickly, "Hey. What's up?"  
  
"You got a minute?" Rogue asked.  
  
"Sure," he stepped back from his door and they went in, "What's this all about?"  
  
Bobby indicated to Rogue, she took a breath, "We were just watching the news. There was a bulletin about four officials murdered over the last week." She hesitated.  
  
"And . . ?"  
  
"Well . . .they were all anti-mutant. And they were all murdered with something metal. We may be massively jumping to conclusions here, so I thought maybe you'd give us a straight answer. Any chance Magneto could be behind this? He came here looking for files on officials around the world against mutants; we know he didn't get them, Ororo told us, but this just seems to be a big coincidence."  
  
Logan thought, "All four against mutants? You sure?"  
  
Rogue nodded, "I was on a web-site a couple of days ago. It's a site saying how all mutants are evil and how we should all be controlled. There was a list of official supporters at the end. I remember that at least two of the people mentioned were two of those murdered. I don't know about the other two."  
  
Logan shrugged, "If you're right . . .if there are just the two . . .well you know what they say. Two's a line. More is a pattern."  
  
The three of them left the room and headed for the library and the computers.  
  
* * *  
  
Logan leaned back in his chair, "Well, all four of them that you said are there. I think you may have hit on something here Rogue."  
  
She grinned, "Well if only two of us had noticed, it would have been a line. If three of us notice . . ."  
  
Logan interrupted, "Yeah, yeah, a pattern. Okay, time to go and see the Professor."  
  
* * *  
  
"How long before Professor Xavier notices?"  
  
"I wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't already put the pieces together."  
  
Pyro looked worried, "Doesn't that mean that he'll try to stop us?"  
  
"Of course he will, but we're not going to let him. This is for the good of all mutants' kind. He will have to learn to see that one-day. But it does mean that you will have to be prepared to come more into the forefront. Are you ready Pyro?"  
  
He hesitated but thinking back on the way that he had been run out of his home town he nodded firmly, "I'm ready."  
  
Magneto smiled, "Are you sure?"  
  
"They would kill us all if they could. And anyway, they are over."  
  
Magneto raised his eyebrows, "Yes?"  
  
"Well, if there was an ant nest in the garden no person would think twice about pouring bleach down it. Because the person would know that, the ants were an inferior species. Well . . .compared to us, human beings are inferior. We are the next stage of evolution, we are metaphorically, pouring bleach down on ants."  
  
Magneto smiled broadly, "I like that. I like that very much."  
  
Pyro smiled, "I got the theory from your whole 'god among insects' thing."  
  
Magneto put a hand on Pyro's shoulder, "I like to know that I'm inspirational."  
  
* * *  
  
Professor Xavier sat in his office. With him, Scott, Ororo, Kurt, Rogue, Bobby, and Logan. He was worried. He couldn't believe that he hadn't noticed. All could do was thank God that Rogue had. He looked around at the faces surrounding him, "Of course we are not certain. But I don't really doubt that Rogue is right." He looked over to Scott, "There is one way to be positive."  
  
Scott nodded and opened the door, "I'll go, and check."  
  
The others all looked at him puzzled, "The files on the officials were hidden in the room that Scott used to share with Jean, we decided that it would be safer than a safe, which would be the first place Magneto would check. He's apparently getting better at anticipating my moves."  
  
Ororo started pacing the room, "As much as normal people sometimes annoy the hell out of me, if they are just being murdered, we have to do something to stop it."  
  
Kurt immediately backed her up, "We can not allow people to be killed in cold blood, simply because they believe something different."  
  
The Professor nodded, "I agree of course. But actually doing something is not that easy. We can not track Magneto himself, and he may be doing this alone. But I can search for John and Mystique to try and discover him."  
  
Scott came back into the room, he looked furious, "They've somehow got them."  
  
The Professor sighed in a weary way, "Very well. I will use Cerebro to try and find . . .whoever I can. Rogue?"  
  
Rogue whose mind had been wondering to where they could be hiding brought her eyes back up, "Yes?"  
  
"I want you to try again. We need to bring down the amount of time it takes you to access that power of yours. If we can do that, you will be joining the others on a mission. You too." The Professor looked at Bobby.  
  
Bobby, who had been looking at Rogue as she frowned was surprised, "Me, Professor?"  
  
"Yes, I was going to speak to several of our older students over the course of the next few weeks to ask them to begin training; to learn to help us. We are short of allies and I'm afraid our time is running out. I would ask them all to go on this mission but they are not yet in enough control of their capabilities. You are. You have always had a firm grip on yours."  
  
Bobby nodded slowly, "Okay. I guess I could help."  
  
The Professor turned back to Rogue, "I will be back to help you as soon as I have done in Cerebro."  
  
"Professor? Wouldn't it be quicker if Rogue started on me? You can focus on Cerebro and Rogue can try me." All eyes in the room turned to Logan, "What? I've had the life sucked out of me twice what's a few more?"  
  
Rogue blushed, "I don't want to hurt anyone."  
  
The Professor nodded, "I know that Rogue, but you wont. Granted it isn't an especially pleasant feeling, but you can stop when you realise it's getting too much. We need all the help we can get."  
  
Rogue nodded and gripped Bobby's hand tighter, "How soon do you think someone out there will connect the mutant related dots?"  
  
The Professor shook his head, "It won't take long, and when they realise, they might be angry enough to pass that law.  
  
* * * 


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: All is as usual. Someone else owns everyone but me.  
  
Distribution: Sure, just tell me where.  
  
Rating: PG-15  
  
Quick thank you to my new and wonderful beta reader who helps me make sure that this story makes some degree of sense, can't thank him enough.  
  
Thank to all my reviewers, sorry for the delay in the new chapter but I sent by beta the wrong version and he couldn't access it. So, my bad, (scurries away and hides in a corner). Enjoy. I should update again tonight or tomorrow at the latest. Please review and elt me know what you think it helps me improve.  
  
Quick message to trekjedi and Miranda Quick who asked me for my NC-17 versions of the chapters. No problem, but you didn't send me your e-mail address. So when you review, (hint, hint) let me know your e-mail address and I'll start sending them to you. Once I know you want them I'll send them all to you as they're ready. Oh, and if the chapter isn't NC-17 it'll be up here and I'll e-mail you and let you know.  
  
Last point I promise, I sent someone with the following address bgeurtz@sbcglobal.net an NC-17 version but I haven't been able to send anymore, won't let me. If whoever this person is has another address, or if I have it wrong, let me know and I'll send you the chapters you need, just let me know. Okay I think that's everything.  
  
Picking up pretty much where I left off, Bobby and Rogue are about to go on a mission to stop Magneto, Mystique, and Pyro from methodically exterminating government officials, nationally and internationally, who are against mutants. They are doing some training and we join them here . . .  
  
* * *  
  
Iceman shot a stream of thick ice at Cyclops' head, which the older man melted with a tap to the side of his visor. Iceman rolled behind a block to dodge the ray that followed; slipping a hand out the side; he angled a block of ice towards Cyclops' head.  
  
They were going soon. They would have already been gone by now except that the jet had needed some serious repairing after their last trip. The training was intensive but it would be over most probably by tomorrow. They were looking to leave tomorrow night. Bobby was nervous but not for him. He was nervous for Rogue, they had lain together last night, and she had told him how nervous she was. She was worried that she wouldn't be able to bring down the amount of time it took her to access her power. She had it down to four minutes from about six and a half and it was a hell of an accomplishment for so short a time but it wasn't enough. It needed to be shorter.  
  
She was scared that she wouldn't be able to help. He had tried to comfort her. He knew the power that she had inside of her; she just needed to learn to unlock it; to access it. He had a feeling that it was related to the idea she still held that she was going to hurt someone she cared about.  
  
Iceman countered Cyclops' shots just as the older man did his. He was exhausted. They had been doing this for the better part of two hours. At first Cyclops' had gone easy on him but that had pissed Iceman off to no end. If he was expected, along with Rogue, to risk their lives to help, then he was done being treated like an invalid or a little kid. He had thrown a large chunk of solid ice at his opponent's head. Cyclops had almost looked pleased and then they had started in earnest. The shots came thick and fast from both of them. Iceman had a slight advantage, in that it was impossible for him to overheat.  
  
It was finished with a victory by default for Iceman. He raised his hand as though to throw more ice and Cyclops' aimed his shot there, he didn't see until it was too late, Iceman blew towards the ground where Cyclops stood, and the ice crawled up his legs. He looked down at the ice, but before he could touch his visor to free himself, his hands were encased. Iceman came out from behind the block and smiled, "So? Does this mean I win?"  
  
Cyclops smiled, "I'm impressed. Very impressed. Diversionary tactics. You raised your hand to my face and aimed for the floor. Good."  
  
Icemen stretched out his hand and pulled the ice back in. Cyclops shook himself with a shiver.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue opened the door of the training room and entered, followed by Logan, "So? You sure you wanna try this again?"  
  
Logan nodded, "Yeah. I recover quicker than most. Are you ready?"  
  
Rogue took a very deep breath, "Yes. I have to get this quicker. A lot quicker."  
  
Logan smiled at the girl, "You will. You're strong, you just need to tame it."  
  
Rogue smiled back, "Thanks."  
  
Logan was confused, "For what?"  
  
"You know . . . pretty much everything. If it weren't for you . . .I would never have gotten here. I would still be afraid and alone running from people. And I would never have met Bobby, so I really do owe you big time."  
  
Logan reached out and took her hand, "If Magneto hadn't been looking for you, we wouldn't have ended up here, and I would have never had a place to call home." Logan slipped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly. "Maybe you owe me, but I owe you too." He pulled back and looked a little embarrassed. "Am I gonna have to get all weepy and tell you that you're my only family and that I . . .you know. Or are you just gonna get it?"  
  
Rogue smiled at his squirminess, "I get it. And I . . .you know too."  
  
Logan smiled briefly, "All right, let's get back to this. Go ahead and suck from me . . ."  
  
Rogue lifted her eyebrows, "That was wrong on so many levels."  
  
Logan nodded, "Oh God, yeah."  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby cooled his skin where there were bruises. Ouch! He stretched out his back and shoulders, pulling against the muscle ache. It had been close but he had gotten the upper hand. He was quite proud of it. Bobby pulled open the door of the bathroom and headed down the hall to the training room. He was anxious to see how Rogue was doing. He didn't knock on the door because he didn't want to disturb them; he slipped inside and saw Rogue with her hand outstretched and her eyes closed.  
  
He watched for about forty seconds and then he saw veins appear down the side of Logan's face as the man crumpled to his knees. Rogue's eyes snapped open and she rushed away from Logan and to the table. She re- attached the disk to her back and moved back over to him. Bobby made his presence known, "Hey. How long this time?"  
  
Rogue shrugged a little disappointed, "About three minutes and forty seconds."  
  
Bobby nodded as the two of them helped a slightly dizzy Logan to his feet, "It's an improvement."  
  
"It's not enough."  
  
Ororo opened the door and Scott followed, "The jet's ready. We've finished early. We leave early tomorrow morning. Anything extra you need?"  
  
Rogue smiled, "A little bravery?"  
  
Ororo smiled back at her, "We'll all do fine."  
  
Rogue nodded, "Okay."  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue and Bobby were watching the TV downstairs with Jubilee and Kitty. There was a movie on about a girl who came into an inheritance, but had to try and find out who were her true friends and who weren't. It was awful, but the couple didn't care, anything to take their minds off what they were doing tomorrow. Ju and Kitty had no idea about what was going on. A number of ex-pupils of the school had been asked to come back and look after the children for a while as a favour, and the Professor was going to stay behind with them. Storm, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Iceman, Rogue and Wolverine were all going.  
  
Despite the fact that Rogue and Bobby were by far the youngest, the others were still as nervous. The Professor had used Cerebro to check on Magneto's location and he had discovered that he had been joined by at least eight others, as well as Mystique and Pyro. That put them at odds eleven to six. Those were not good odds.  
  
Rogue traced patterns on the back of Bobby's hand, as she didn't watch the film. In part she wanted to see her friends, in case something happened to her. On the other hand she wanted to go back to her room with Bobby . . .in case something happened to her. She sat there for another half an hour and then she sighed. Turning in his arms, she looked at Bobby and moved her eyes upwards in a silent question. He nodded and took her hand, "We're gonna turn in you guys. See you tomorrow."  
  
The two girls turned and smiled in a knowing sort of way and Kitty giggled, "'Kay. See you."  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue gripped Bobby's shoulders as he moved on top of her slowly. She cried out as he clung to her back. Their eyes stayed  
  
locked together as they held each other. Bobby slipped a hand up her back and touched her face, "I love you Rogue . . .unh . . .we'll be okay tomorrow . . . unh . . .because I love you."  
  
Rogue took his hand and he pressed it to the mattress, as tears slipped down her cheeks, "I love you too . . .unh . . .we're going to be okay . . .I know."  
  
Bobby kissed her deeply as they shuddered together.  
  
* * *  
  
They curled up together; Rogue kept her fingers linked with Bobby's, "We really are going to be okay."  
  
It wasn't a question. He watched her closely and slowly nodded. "I know," he replied.  
  
She smiled up at him with a gleam in her eyes and kissed him, "Think you can stand to go another few rounds?"  
  
Bobby grinned, "I think so. On top?"  
  
She smiled deviously and pushed him onto his back.  
  
* * *  
  
Logan handed it to Rogue and Bobby. "Would you look at that? They got here a little early."  
  
Rogue smiled and went to change. Bobby stared hard at Logan, "If . . .anything happens . . .you'll look after her right? Do I even need to ask?"  
  
Logan put a hand on Bobby's shoulder, "No, you don't need to ask. Do I?" Bobby grit his teeth, "No." He shook his head, "It's because of Jean. It's brought us to grips with our whole . . .you know . . .we can die thing."  
  
Logan nodded, "I know. We're not invincible. I know. And our odds aren't great."  
  
Bobby clenched his fists, "Not great at all . . .if something happens to her . . ."  
  
Logan almost yelled, his feral-like growl becoming louder, "I just lost Jean, I'm not planning on letting anything happen to that girl. I won't."  
  
"That makes two of us."  
  
Logan held out his hand and Bobby took it. His eyes gleamed as he sent a shot of cold over the man's hand. Logan smirked.  
  
* * *  
  
"Professor? Are they still in the same place?"  
  
"The bunker underneath that old government building is still their location. You must get those files back; you do understand that? And any copies that may have been made as well. They cannot possibly have memorized them all, we must have them back."  
  
Storm nodded, "Yes. I understand." She glanced around at the others in the jet, "We all do."  
  
* * *  
  
Storm gripped the steering column. She was terrified. The last time they had gone into a mission like this one, one of her oldest friends had ended up dead. Her heart stung as she thought of Jean; sometimes she seemed so close that Storm could almost touch her. She pitied Scott. He had loved Jean since they had been children, and now he had lost her. They had been spending a lot of time reminiscing about their childhoods; she wasn't sure whether it was helping either of them, or hurting them. But they were friends, and somehow, though she didn't know how yet, they would get through this.  
  
Her eyes fell on Iceman and Rogue. She had been on her first mission when she was twenty-two. They were both just eighteen. They were so brave. She had, of course, only seen them as students at first, but during Rogue's training and her testing, she had talked to the girl, become her friend. She was extraordinary. She had known Iceman longer and although she and Iceman were different superficially, they were very similar. They were brave, strong, with a belief in what was right and wrong. Yes. These two were going to be invaluable members of their team. Invaluable friends. They needed all the help that they could get.  
  
Her eyes moved to Nightcrawler. She didn't know how, if it was even possible, but she cared for him and she knew that he cared for her. There was something there. She was very curious to find out what it was.  
  
* * *  
  
Wolverine rubbed the skin between his eyes. The younger man was right, they were mortal, and he had lost Jean. He didn't know if he could survive losing Rogue. He cared for them all, but Rogue . . . she had been the first person to look at him and see someone under his claws and attitude. She had been unafraid, and he would have given his life for her at Liberty Island. He still would now. As much as he cared for the others, well, she was . . . family. He perhaps should have been jealous that she loved someone else as much as him, probably even more, but he was just grateful . . . Iceman loved her and he would look after her. A smile lit his features, as if she needed looking after that much anyway.  
  
* * *  
  
Nightcrawler rubbed the rosary beads in his hands. A few months ago, he had been alone and lonely. Now he practically had a family. They did not fear him, and some of them even cared for him. Storm cared for him. He knew it. He wasn't sure why she should, a beautiful woman should not really care for someone as ugly as he was, but she didn't seem to care too much. She didn't recoil from him, she wasn't afraid. She accepted him.  
  
The younger one too, another beautiful one. He had saved her life out of instinct, but she had become his friend for it. She talked to him whenever she saw him. And she wasn't afraid. The lack of fear meant more than anything else ever could. Kurt moved on to the next bead. Even if something should happen to him, there were people who would care.  
  
* * *  
  
Cyclops grit his teeth and gripped the armrests of his chair. Everything he did now he did for his friends. The people he'd cared for a long time, like Storm, and those he'd come to care for recently; Rogue, Iceman, Nightcrawler and oh . . .God . . .yes maybe even respect for Wolverine too. But most of all he did it for Jean. She had died so that they could escape, so that they could live and keep trying. So, damn it, he was going to keep trying . . .until he joined her.  
  
* * *  
  
Iceman sat in front of Rogue; he was not going to let anything happen to her. He would die first. He would kill first. He knew that if something did happen to him she would be okay . . .eventually, Wolverine would help her. He didn't even know exactly what they were getting themselves into but they were going to stop Pyro, and Mystique and Magneto. And anyone else that was hurting people.  
  
Iceman was no fool. He knew that there were people out there who wanted to hurt them, the very people that he was determined to save, but he would not let them be hurt. He would not allow them to bring him down to their level. He would stop them.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue looked forward, she could see one of Iceman's hands on the armrest. She wished that she could take his hand. She couldn't though. She wasn't wearing her metal disk. Even then, she wouldn't have been able to reach. She was afraid, for him more than her. She knew that he could handle himself but she didn't know what she would do if anything happened to him. She shook herself. That was not going to happen. He was going to be okay. They both were.  
  
* * *  
  
Storm brought the jet down smoothly, Wolverine smiled, "That's what I call a landing."  
  
Cyclops glared at him silently.  
  
Storm took a deep breath, "They're underground, are we ready?"  
  
She looked round the jet as every one nodded. 


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I own nothing but me, but oh God would I kill to own Shawn Ashmore, would I ever . . .  
  
Distribution: Sure just tell me where it's going.  
  
Rating: PG 15  
  
Thanks to all my reviewers, you make the sun shine. Keeping the updates as frequent as is possible. They've not been bad since there was a thing with the site last week, no one could update their stories. Very annoying. Just when I had a chapter ready.  
  
* * *  
  
Cyclops and Wolverine slid the door open between them. It went silently and the team slipped through the door and down the stairs. It was pitch black outside but there was light from outside. Their best chance was stealth. If they could get in and start the search before they were discovered they just might be able to get away.  
  
They all crept forwards towards the stairs that they knew from the schematics led underground. Storm reached down to pull the cover up. As she leant forward, there was a loud clanging from behind them. Rogue jumped in shock and turned round with the others to see that the door they had just come through was shut tight.  
  
They were plunged into darkness for about ten seconds until, suddenly, lights came on. Rogue looked around her. They were surrounded. Pyro was there, as were Magneto and Mystique. There were others.  
  
Rogue looked them all over. There were five women and three men. Two of the women looked ordinary except that they were identical twins. One of them was albino, white skin, hair, and red eyes, almost glowing. One was seven feet tall, at least Rogue thought she was until she realised that the girl was about average height, she was just floating a foot and a half off the floor. The final female was covered with silver scales; there was electricity crackling between her fingers.  
  
Of the men, one was green with black horns almost crowning his head. He didn't have fingers so much as claws, not like Wolverine's, they were actually claws. The second was normal looking. The third had arms and legs that were unnaturally spindly and long.  
  
Rogue swallowed hard. This was so not good.  
  
Magneto stepped forwards, Mystique and Pyro on either side, "How kind of you to drop in."  
  
Cyclops glared, "You know why we're here. We can't let you carry on with this."  
  
Magneto smiled, "Oh? And what makes you think that you're going to stop us?"  
  
"We will."  
  
Magneto's smile faded, "Stop them."  
  
The mutants surged forward. The X-men took a step backward and closed ranks. Storm yelled to Nightcrawler, "Go! Search everywhere you can!"  
  
He turned to her as he kicked the albino female away from them, "That brings us down to five."  
  
"Go! You have to! Find those damn files." He hesitated then vanished. Storm screamed above the sounds, "Rogue! We need you. Everyone surround her. Rogue quick as you can try to start taking their powers."  
  
Everyone closed ranks and Rogue closed her eyes trying to focus.  
  
Wolverine was handling the twin girls; they seemed normal, until he actually fought them. They anticipated each other's every move. They were ready to follow through on each attack. They were telepathic. The albino joined in the fight soon and it turned into three against one. Wolverine wasn't too worried despite the ass kicking he was getting after all; he had a habit of getting back up.  
  
That was at least until something powerful and hot shot out of her eyes, "Oh great, another Cyclops. just what I need."  
  
* * *  
  
Storm focussed on Magneto, her eyes turned white. She called inside to the lightning she had been able to conjure ever since she had been a girl. She checked on Cyclops who was holding his own against the green male and female covered in silver scales, with her he was just tying to physically keep her away, she was trying to electrocute him.  
  
Storm called upwards and watched as it readied. Magneto was moving to Iceman who was in the middle of dealing with the somewhat spindly mutant, who as it turned out had arms and legs that extended and retracted. Pyro was standing there, smiling. Storm mentally screamed and the electrically current struck the older man, he fell to the floor. Pyro was flung back wards. He looked down at Magneto, "NO!"  
  
He whirled around to look at the X-men. Storm was ready to take him on but she felt Mystique deliver a sharp snap kick to the back to her head. She whirled.  
  
Iceman's opponent was joined against him by the regular looking one who it turned out was a problem. He was telekinetic. Objects kept flying towards him, and he kept freezing them so that they dropped.  
  
In the centre of the circle Rogue focussed, what had been happening around her had only taken a matter of seconds. And she was still trying to draw the strength from inside of her. She heard Wolverine yell out in pain and her eyes snapped open in panic. She saw that he had been hit by something red and glowing. Anger welled up inside of her as the three women pummelled his body. Rogue took a deep breath and reached out towards them. She felt her eyes grow warm as the albino girl crumpled. Wolverine looked over his shoulder and smiled quickly. He got back on his feet and took on the twins. He knocked one of them across the room the other sister stopped briefly to look where the other one had gone. Wolverine took his chance. They kept coming back, but he kept putting them down. He was doing better.  
  
Storm was fighting Mystique and the girl who could fly. After a second look at Magneto, Mystique moved backward leaving the fight to the other. She took off down the hall. Storm knew where she was going; she was going after Nightcrawler.  
  
Iceman was doing surprisingly well. Anything that came towards him froze and he finally managed to put the spindly one down. The guy extended his arm so that it was almost next to his head. He froze all the way up to the elbow and Iceman punched the hand so it shattered. He wasn't a problem after he slumped away bleeding and whimpering.  
  
Pyro felt anger swell up inside of him as he dragged Magneto round the corner and out of danger. The older man was alive. His mind went back to the battle. No! NO! NO! He returned, facing Cyclops. He clicked his lighter and took a handful of fire. He screamed in anger and threw it at Cyclops. His hand fell away from his visor and he collapsed.  
  
Rogue was knocked off her feet by the heat. Dazed she fought to stand again.  
  
Iceman almost had the other. Any second . . .before he could administer the last shot his attention was caught by the woman with electricity crackling coming towards him. He turned and froze her up to the neck. That was all the time his attention needed to be diverted. The green mutant, with black horns and claws moved quickly, Iceman felt them slice into his stomach and he fell to the floor with a moan.  
  
Rogue pushed herself to her feet just as Iceman fell. She saw his eyes go blank as she looked into them and her mouth widened in horror, "NO! God NO! Bobby?!"  
  
Within a second, she knew he wasn't going to answer, her attention flicked to the green mutant who had sliced him, the telekinetic he had been fighting and the female covered in silver scales. Anger flared in her eyes. She had never felt the kind of fury, panic and pain that coursed through her body.  
  
She didn't care about any possible consequences, all she knew was that her lover was lying on the ground bleeding, and it was because these . . .murderers were taking the law and every mutants safety in their own hands. Her mind screamed in pain as she looked at him again. Then she really screamed, she lifted her hand and within five seconds, the three of them were screaming too.  
  
Pyro looked around and saw what Rogue was doing. Three of them at one? Was that even possible? He lifted a hand and threw fire at her. He knew that she would have to stop when it licked her skin. Wouldn't she? No. She carried on pulling the power out of them, even as her skin was scorched. Instead of stopping her, the other hand went up and Pyro felt the familiar cold and pulling. Nor was he the only one. The twins Wolverine was fighting and the girl who could fly, they all crashed to their knees and faces in agony.  
  
* * *  
  
Mystique found Nightcrawler. He had the files in his hands and was running out of one of the rooms. He also had four disks and the hard drive of the computer. "Give them to me, now."  
  
Nightcrawler was afraid, he didn't care, he had promised Storm; he shook his head.  
  
"I'm warning you, give them to me." Mystique knew that she couldn't let him take those files, they needed them if they were going to complete the list, they needed them and they would have them . . .at any cost. Her throat tightened as she thought of Magneto. She hadn't wanted to leave him, but she had known what he would say. He would tell her to get the files.  
  
Nightcrawler clenched his jaw and was about to disappear when she flung a long knife at him. It embedded itself in his stomach and she came towards him, her eyes were glinting as she reached down to pick up the files. Nightcrawler curled his body around them and held on.  
  
Mystique snarled and, and tried to pry his arms away from them. He clenched his teeth and vanished beneath her fingers.  
  
He appeared down the hall. He was getting back to his friends.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue watched as the mutants drifted into unconsciousness. She was hovering in the air, her eyes were glowing red, and things were floating around her. She was angry. She had to make sure they didn't hurt them again. She pulled harder, she didn't see one of them stop breathing. She felt something like a snap inside of her stomach. Wolverine moved over to her, "Rogue."  
  
She hesitated and looked over to him, "I . . ."  
  
"Let go. Come on. Let go."  
  
Rogue felt the snap inside of her stomach again; maybe she was hurting herself doing this. Rogue lowered her hands and dropped to the ground.  
  
Storm and Cyclops were staring at her in shock, "How did you do that?"  
  
Storm moved forward and took her arm, "Are you alright?"  
  
Rogue shuddered, "Yes." She pulled away and slipped her hand in her pocket grabbing the disk she usually wore on her back. She held it in place as it attached and then she rushed over to Iceman. "Bobby? Are you okay?"  
  
He was awake and he looked up at her, "Hey."  
  
"Hey."  
  
He tried to speak again but just as he did, Nightcrawler appeared quite literally out of thin air. He handed the files to Storm and smiled, "I found them."  
  
Storm smiled at him and was about to speak when his face went blank and he crumpled to the floor next to Iceman, "Kurt? Kurt, what happened? What happened to you? Are you all right?"  
  
Nightcrawler moved his hand off the wound in his abdomen. "It was Mystique."  
  
Storm gasped and tears slipped down her cheeks, "You'll be okay, you will, you'll be okay."  
  
Nightcrawler smiled slightly, "It's all right. I am not afraid. Do not cry."  
  
Storm touched his face gently and leaned forward to gently kissed him for a second.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue clutched Iceman's hand, "Please. Please be okay."  
  
He smiled up at her, "Don't worry. You did good. Really good."  
  
She cried, and reached out to stroke his face, "Not good enough."  
  
With surprising strength he gripped her arms, "Don't you ever think that. You are good enough, you're amazing."  
  
"I love you."  
  
"I love you too."  
  
Rogue leaned forward and leant gently on him, crying into his chest. He held onto her arms for a second, and then his arms went limp.  
  
Rogue looked up and stared him, "Bobby?.Bobby? Bobby?!"  
  
There was no response. 


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I own nothing but me . . .but I could be for sale at a price.  
  
Distribution: Ask and you can theft.  
  
Well, well, aren't our characters in a little predicament. It was all kinda sad, huh? Well, we join them in the middle again . . .  
  
* * *  
  
"Bobby?.Bobby? Bobby?! Please answer me, oh God, please answer me." Rogue reached forward under Iceman's collar and felt, there was still a pulse, but it was fading quickly.  
  
She had to do something, now. Right now. What the hell could she do? She felt hands touch her shoulders, "Rogue?" It was Wolverine, "Rogue?"  
  
She twisted and looked at him, "When I did what I did I projected my power right?"  
  
He frowned, "What do you . . ."  
  
She cut him off, "Right?"  
  
He nodded, "I guess so."  
  
Rogue reached round and pressed the red button in the centre of the metal disk. It fell off into her palm, and she dropped it, "Logan please give me your hand." He barely hesitated and he pressed his palm to hers.  
  
Much quicker than ever before he felt that cold sensation in the pit of his stomach. His knees gave out and she wrenched her hand from his grip.  
  
Storm held Nightcrawler's head on her lap as she watched, Cyclops watched too with one hand on his friend's shoulder. All three knew there was nothing they could do, so they merely watched from behind.  
  
Rogue closed her eyes and leaned forward placing her hand just above Iceman's chest. This time she didn't pull; she pushed. Using all the strength that she possessed she pushed. She pushed the power inside of her out of her and into him. She watched as the blood stopped trickling from the wound across his chest, as the colour returned to his cheeks, and the glazed look faded from his half opened eyes. His breathing deepened again. His eyes opened, "Rogue?"  
  
She sobbed, "Bobby? No, don't touch me. You can soon though."  
  
"Rogue!"  
  
Rogue turned to see Storm sat with Nightcrawler, he was gasping, and blood was streaming from his mouth, "Oh God!"  
  
She moved over and held her hand over his chest; she pushed again. She pushed from her and into him. Except that there was nothing left in her to give. The tears started in her eyes again. This man had saved her life and now he was going to die.  
  
She looked down and tried to push, but there was nothing. There was nothing at all until she felt someone grab her other hand. Logan. She felt that familiar sensation of her absorbing his powers, his memories, his life force.  
  
She looked down at where the claws jutted from, just above his knuckles, which showed a sudden bruise. She pulled her hand from his again and pushed into Nightcrawler. This time she felt it, and she heard him gasp as he could breath again, as the sensation of drowning faded. Rogue stood and looked down at Nightcrawler sitting up, and at Iceman, smiling at her. She smiled back, and then everything went black.  
  
* * *  
  
Iceman rushed over to her, "Oh God is she okay?"  
  
For the first time he noticed the burns over one of her arms and down the side of her face. Storm moved quickly, "Yes, she just drained the power from seven mutants at once and one before that. Then she pulled power from Logan and gave it to you and Kurt. Her body has probably had enough for one day."  
  
Iceman picked the disc up off the floor and turned her over. Her uniform was made specially, with a patch in the back so that this could be placed and removed easily. He held it over her skin until it fixed itself and then he turned her back into his arms and stroked her face. There were burn marks all over her cheek, up one arm and down her back and shoulder the uniform had been burnt right through. Pyro! Iceman almost growled. The bastard!  
  
He picked up Rogue; "I'm taking her to the jet. Once it's locked down, I'll be back to help clear up the mess.  
  
* * *  
  
After making sure that she was comfortable, Iceman returned to the building. Logan had recovered quickly; his healing powers returning almost immediately after Rogue had let go. The other X-men were checking the other mutants for signs of life, he didn't care if there were any or not. He was looking for one. His eyes fell on Pyro. He checked to make sure that all the others were occupied then he dragged the unconscious body of his former friend round the corner and away.  
  
He saw Magneto, but he wasn't interested in the older man. He was angry with the bastard who had burnt his girlfriend. He sat Pyro against the wall; next, he fixed his hands to the wall with ice. After a few slaps round the face, Pyro started to come around, "Uh . . .God my head."  
  
Iceman nodded, "Really, I wonder how Rogue's going to feel when she wakes up?"  
  
Pyro suddenly snapped back to full consciousness, he realised where he was and who had him, "Hey, what're you doing?"  
  
"Don't know yet. But I'm starting to get an idea. Did you see what you did to her? You burnt her and she was trying to help us."  
  
Pyro shook his head, "But that's the thing isn't it Bobby? There isn't actually an 'us' anymore. I'm not on your side; I'm with them. I can't be on your side anymore. We aren't going to get anywhere. Not the way the Professor does it. We'll end up in cages. It's not happening if I can help it. The humans don't matter anymore."  
  
Iceman shook his head, "How can you say that people don't matter? What the hell happened to you?"  
  
"We're the next stage, they're about to die out, maybe slowly, but die out they will. And when they're gone, we'll be what's left behind, and no one will be arguing over people anymore. It'll just be our kind. I'm just looking to speed it up a little."  
  
"You can't. Not this way."  
  
Pyro's glare hardened, "Try me."  
  
"You burnt her. And she was your friend."  
  
Pyro smirked, "I would've liked more, she always had a thing for me you know."  
  
Iceman flared up and froze Pyro's actual hand, fingers spread apart. "Well, the best man won. Here's the thing. If you ever come near her again, if you ever hurt her or even try, I will make sure that you die slowly and very painfully."  
  
The smirk didn't leave his face, "You don't have the guts."  
  
Iceman smiled, "Don't I?" For a moment, he hesitated, and then he saw Rogue again in his mind, her body and face burnt by Pyro. He raised his foot and kicked it against the wall. Right on top of the mass of ice that was Pyro's right hand. Pyro screamed in pain and Iceman removed the ice. The screaming increased, "Believe me I do." Pyro was now missing his smallest finger.  
  
Iceman turned away and rounded the corner. As soon as he was out of sight of Pyro, he was violently sick. That wasn't the sort of thing he ever wanted to do again, but it was worth it if it meant that Pyro was kept away from Rogue, at least for a while. The screaming brought the others coming round the corner; Storm was first, "What happened?"  
  
Iceman righted himself, "I froze Pyro's hand, and then I smashed one of his fingers." Storm's mouth gaped as he walked away and headed back to the jet.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby sat by Rogue waiting for the other's to come back. He wasn't happy with what he'd done, he would never be happy with hurting anyone, but he couldn't let Pyro hurt her and get away with it, not after what she'd done. She saved him, saved them all.  
  
Logan climbed up the ramp and spotted the two of them. "Hey."  
  
"Hey."  
  
"You all right?"  
  
Bobby nodded, "Yeah. Just a little queasy."  
  
"Not big on the inflicting pain."  
  
"I didn't do it to hurt him, I did it to stop him coming after her again, as you know this wasn't the first time."  
  
"You telling me there wasn't a little revenge involved?"  
  
Bobby looked at him steadily, "Maybe a little."  
  
"I get that."  
  
Bobby was surprised, "You do?"  
  
"Sure. You saw that someone you love was hurt and you hit back. Most people do it."  
  
"So what do you think? Am I a bad guy now?"  
  
The smile was back on Bobby's face as Logan replied, "Not as bad as me."  
  
"How're you doing?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Well I wanted to thank you. Apparently you're the reason I'm still here, at least in part."  
  
Logan smirked, "She loves you, even if I'd said 'no' which I wouldn't she would probably still have taken it."  
  
"Still . . .you said 'yes'. So thanks."  
  
"Hey, you think she would've ever forgiven me if you'd not survived."  
  
Bobby smiled this time very sincerely, "Stop trying to make it sound as though it's nothing and accept my thanks."  
  
Logan was taken aback for a second, "Your welcome."  
  
Sensing Logan might become uncomfortable, Bobby changed the subject, "Are they all alive?"  
  
Logan sighed, "No. Two of them are dead. They may just have been weaker or maybe she unconsciously focused harder. Either way, the girl who could fly and the guy who you were fighting, telekinetic, those two. We can't call the police, it's still murder, and there are no laws to govern a mutant killing another mutant in self-defence. Rogue would be arrested. We can't risk it. Two counts of murder, can't risk it. Storm says that maybe we shouldn't even tell her. Just call an ambulance for the injured ones and go. No one will ever be able to prove that we were here, we have a whole school full of people who'll testify that we were teaching lessons and that you were in them."  
  
Bobby shook his head, "I won't lie to her."  
  
Logan nodded, "I didn't agree anyway."  
  
Ororo, Scott and Kurt boarded the jet, Logan turned around, "Are we ready to get out of here?"  
  
Ororo held up the files, the disks and the hard drive, "We got what we came for."  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby couldn't believe that it had only been last night that he and Rogue had talked about how they were going to be okay. They all were. Thanks to her. Bobby didn't know how she'd done it, but somehow she'd tapped into an incredible amount of power. Bobby flinched when he thought about how she'd feel tomorrow, when he told her that she'd ended up killing two people.  
  
He knew very well that she wouldn't have done it on purpose, not if she'd known what she was doing. She'd just panicked and over done it a little. Like he had with Pyro. Bobby knew that he shouldn't have done that. But he couldn't regret it, it had been time to show Pyro that it wasn't only the bad guys who could cause others pain. Sometimes the 'good guys' could too. And when it came to Rogue . . .well he just didn't regret it.  
  
He had a feeling that it wasn't over. Magneto would keep coming back, so would Mystique and John and maybe even the others. It didn't matter; they'd keep fighting back.  
  
Bobby strapped Rogue into the chair and took the one behind her. He wanted to sit with her, but his last experience of what happened when Rogue wasn't strapped in was not favourable.  
  
It was late when they got back to Westchester; Bobby declined help with Rogue. Strom had examined her; the burns were only superficial and she was probably just exhausted from the energy it had taken her to do what she had done.  
  
They had been talking about it all the way home. That kind of power was not easy to come by. Ororo and Scott were talking about it quite excitedly. Bobby just wanted to get her home.  
  
He lifted her gently and carried her upstairs. He laid her on the bed on a towel and stripped her down. Someone obligingly had cleaned the sheets and now she was covered in black soot. He filled a bowl with warm water and washed her completely. He felt as though he had to get rid of the remnants of this mission. He was going to have to tell her that she had killed two mutants.  
  
He carefully froze the burns on her skin, making sure it wasn't cold enough to burn. Just as he slipped her under the sheets, there was a knock at the door. He opened it to see Logan stood there, "What's up?"  
  
"You gotta minute?"  
  
Bobby stepped back from the door, "Sure."  
  
"I thought I would . . ."  
  
Bobby remained silent. Logan moved over to the bed, "I'll turn round while you take off that thing she wears."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You think I'm gonna let her stay burned?"  
  
Bobby smiled gratefully, "Sure and thanks."  
  
Logan turned and Bobby moved her carefully on to her front, removing the disc, he was careful not to touch her skin. Making sure she was covered he stood up straight, "Okay."  
  
Logan placed his hand on the shoulder that wasn't burnt. All the veins on his face stood out immediately. Bobby waited until the count of four and then he pulled Logan off.  
  
They stood and watched as the burns healed. Rogue stirred and moaned softly. Logan smiled; still a little out of breath. "I'll see you guys tomorrow," he said as Bobby re-attached the disc.  
  
Bobby nodded, "Thanks again."  
  
"Your welcome."  
  
Logan closed the door behind him. Within a minute Rogue had turned over, "Bobby? BOBBY!"  
  
Rogue yelled out, Bobby moved over to the bed, and slipped his arms around her, "Hey, I'm here."  
  
She pulled his to her, she was crying, "Oh God, I thought I lost you."  
  
"I thought that I'd lost you too."  
  
"You almost died, you almost went away. I thought that you were gone."  
  
"I told you that I wasn't going to leave you. And you made sure that I kept my promise."  
  
She pulled back and ran her fingers over his cheek and pulled his face to hers, she touched her tongue to his lips as he moaned. She pulled away the sheet that separated them, pulling his body to hers. Bobby pulled away, "You're tired, and you've had a long day . . ."  
  
She looked into his eyes, "I want you."  
  
He smiled and looked up to the heavens, "Oh thank God."  
  
She laughed, until he pulled her to him firmly and kissed the breath out of her, while trying to get out of his clothes.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue crept out of bed the next morning. She stretched; it had been a long couple of days. As it was Sunday, she decided to hurry down stairs for a little breakfast; something that they could have in bed.  
  
She dragged on a robe and opened the door just as Bobby was waking up, "Hey, where're you going?"  
  
"You weren't supposed to wake up. Breakfast in bed, meant to be a surprise."  
  
Bobby closed his eyes, "I'll be surprised."  
  
Rogue left and went downstairs to the kitchen. She looked around for Bobby's favourite cereal. She knew that there was always some in store. Looking at the top shelves of all the cupboards, she spotted it. Damn! Rogue reached up, stretching to grab the box. A second later her fingers closed around the box and she lifted it easily off the shelf. She was pleasantly surprised, and reached down to put the box on the surface. But she couldn't . . .the surface was about two feet lower down. She looked down at the floor. He feet were not touching it. She yelped in surprise and shock as she fell back down.  
  
* * * 


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I own nothing; I'm a poor student who owns nothing quite literally.  
  
Distribution: Sure just tell me where you want me . . .it.  
  
Thanks to my wonderful beta reader who makes sure I don't make a complete prat of myself . . .well I do that a lot anyway, but he minimizes it.  
  
Okay, I know that I'm the most terrible person like ever, but it's here now so please don't kill me, new chapters have gone to beta so it shouldn't be long.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue forced herself to her feet amid a sea of scattered cereal. People came running into the kitchen, seven or eight students, among them Ju and Kitty, who had been pretending not to watch cartoons with the younger kids, Logan and Ororo.  
  
Logan moved forward and helped her to her feet, "Are you okay?"  
  
Rogue nodded and indicated the others, "Something just happened. I should tell you, we need . . ."  
  
Logan got the message; he nodded and started shooing the other kids out of the room. Ororo came forward and put a hand on Rogue's arm, "What happened?"  
  
Rogue was about to answer when Bobby came into the room, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, "Are you okay? I heard you yell."  
  
Rogue looked to him, "I'm fine. Just . . ." Logan came back into the kitchen, "It's just . . .I don't know exactly what happened . . ."  
  
Her voice trailed off and she seemed to be deep in thought for a second, Bobby took her hand, "Just tell us from the beginning."  
  
Rogue met his eyes, taking comfort in how calm he was being when she felt anything but. She nodded, "I . . .came down to get us some breakfast. I was looking for cereal for Bobby. I couldn't find it for a minute and then I looked in all of the cupboards. It was on the top shelf in that one," she pointed, "I reached up but it was too high. I remember thinking that I would have to go and get a chair, but I stretched one more time and I reached it.  
  
"Then I reached down to put it on the surface top. Unfortunately, the surface top was about two feet lower than I thought it would be. I looked down at the floor and saw that my feet were not standing on it. I was floating above it."  
  
She looked around at the others, Logan cleared his throat, and looked a little doubtful, "Are you sure? I mean after what happened yesterday . . .it could just have been a blackout."  
  
Rogue shook her head impatiently, "I might be tired and a little achy, but I'm perfectly sane. I know what happened."  
  
Ororo was frowning as she thought. Bobby was looking at the floor as though it could give him answers; he had not let go of her hand. Rogue felt her self flush, "Don't you believe me?"  
  
Bobby's attention snapped back to her, "Yes of course I do," he said dismissing the very idea that he might not, "I'm just wondering how."  
  
Rogue shrugged "I have no idea."  
  
"I think I might."  
  
She gripped his hand, "How?"  
  
Bobby looked very serious, "There's something you should know. Yesterday, when you drained those mutants . . ."  
  
Logan tried to cut him off, "Bobby I don't think that this is the time."  
  
"Oh, I think that this is the perfect time." He turned back to Rogue, "Yesterday, two of the mutants . . .they died."  
  
Rogue's face showed a look of pure horror. After a second, her legs gave way and Bobby held her up, "It's okay, it wasn't your fault, it was in self defence, you know that. It was either them or all of us." Her eyes weren't focussed, "Rogue? Rogue! Listen to me," Rogue brought her eyes back to him, "It was not your fault. Do you hear me? It was in no way your fault. You saved at least two lives down there and possibly more. Are you listening? It was not your fault."  
  
Rogue was a little dazed and pressed her hands to his chest as he pulled her to him, "Y. . .yes."  
  
Logan and Ororo looked at each other, both very faintly embarrassed to be witnessing something as intimate as what was obviously between these two. Logan felt his heart ache for her. Someone like Rogue, who had never wanted to deliberately hurt anyone; this kind of guilt was hard to bear.  
  
After a second, the two seemed to become aware of the two by-standers; Rogue felt a stab of guilt, she didn't deserve comfort, she moved away slightly but took Bobby's hand and did not let go. He turned to face Logan, "You said that two of them died?"  
  
He nodded and looked to Ororo, "Yes, Logan and I checked them all with Kurt and Scott. Two died."  
  
Bobby nodded, "What powers did they have?"  
  
Logan thought for a second, "A telekinetic and . . ." his thought picked up where Bobby was going, " . . .and one who could levitate."  
  
Bobby nodded and smiled slightly, "Right. So . . .is it possible that Rogue has held onto their powers?"  
  
All eyes turned to Ororo who shrugged, "I . . .I guess it's possible. The real test would be . . ." she turned round and picked up an apple. "Rogue?"  
  
Rogue nodded, "Yeah, I know. Try to . . .bring it to me." Rogue stared hard at the fruit, she tried to pull it towards her, after a few seconds she stopped and breathed deeply, "I can't."  
  
Bobby sighed, "Well I guess that kills that theory."  
  
Ororo frowned, "Not necessarily. Rogue, when you floated, you weren't trying to float. You were trying to get something. It was the desire that lifted you off your feet."  
  
"I guess it was, yeah."  
  
Ororo nodded, "Exactly. You looked then like you were trying to pull the apple towards you. Don't. Want it in your hand. Want to be holding it. Try that."  
  
Rogue held her hand, palm up in font of her, and she silently asked for the apple. It moved across the room and landed in her palm. She took a shuddering breath in, "Oh God."  
  
Bobby saw her panic, "What?"  
  
"I stole their powers. I killed them and I stole their powers." Tears streamed down her cheeks.  
  
Bobby wrapped his arms around her and he turned to face Logan and Ororo, "I think it may be time to get the Professor's input here."  
  
* * *  
  
The X-men were again all assembled, this time they were sitting in a lab and it was about eight thirty at night. Tests had been done on Rogue's blood. It turned out that the mutations were permanent. Bobby thought that it might have been better for Rogue if they hadn't been. She was having trouble with the whole 'I killed them' thing as it was. They hadn't told her yet, that she had these powers for good.  
  
The Professor sighed deeply but smiled at Rogue, "Don't you two lead eventful lives?" Rogue smiled weakly and gripped Bobby's hand tighter, "Rogue, I know that you are having difficulty with the events of yesterday. You have to accept that it was not your fault. You and your allies were being attacked; they were trying to kill you. That is not murder. That is self defence."  
  
Rogue nodded, "I know, I just need . . ."  
  
"Some time." He quickly moved on to minimize her discomfort, "We have learnt that these powers are . . ."  
  
Rogue cut him off, "Permanent."  
  
He nodded, "Yes. How did you know?"  
  
Se shrugged, "I just . . .when I look back on it, I felt it. I felt them die and I felt their powers come to me. It was like something was stretching between us, and there was a snapping sensation, I felt it in my stomach. That must have been the actual moment when I . . ."  
  
"When you took their powers in and they died." Rogue looked down as she nodded and tears filled her eyes again. "When you take a mutants power, they hold onto it; they fight for it back. When they stop fighting, you take it into you. It's that simple."  
  
Rogue nodded, "I guess so."  
  
The Professor wasn't quite sure how to broach the next subject; there didn't seem any delicate way to do it, "Rogue, these new powers. You'll have to learn to control and use them."  
  
Rogue's head snapped up, "No."  
  
The Professor shifted awkwardly, "I understand your reluctance but they are valuable gifts, even though it's hard you must see . . ."  
  
Rogue stood, "No. I won't. I will not learn to use a mutant's power that I have stolen from them and killed in the process. I won't."  
  
"Rogue . . ."  
  
"No!"  
  
Rogue turned and walked out of the room. The Professor turned to Bobby, "Give her some time, and then see if you can talk to her."  
  
Bobby nodded, "I'll try, but if she really doesn't want to I wont try to force her for . . . you know, the common good."  
  
The Professor smiled, "I didn't think you would."  
  
Bobby nodded to the others and followed Rogue; she'd have gone to their room.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue sat on her bed, curled up like a small child. Ankles crossed, arms wrapped round them. They wanted her to use the powers, the powers that she had killed two people for. She had killed. She knew it wasn't as simple as that deep down, but for now she was just trying to deal with the pain; the pain of knowing that there had been two deaths because of her, the fact that people were alive because of her didn't break through, she was just hurting.  
  
Rogue hugged her knees tighter, why did it hurt so much? She hadn't meant to kill anyone. She hadn't even wanted to seriously hurt anyone, she had just reacted out of fear and panic and anger at what had been done to Bobby. She was debating whether to go and find him when the door opened and he stood there.  
  
Bobby walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. She wrapped herself around him and held on. He knew that it would be pointless to try to tell her again that it wasn't her fault. Yet. She needed to cry, to let it out, just to let it out. But she didn't seem to want to cry.  
  
She must have held him for half an hour, maybe longer. Then she moved to kiss Bobby, to take comfort from him. He kissed her back. After a few seconds she yanked her shirt over her head. She needed him, she needed him to make her forget, she might not deserve it, but she needed it . . .  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby lay flat on his back and Rogue lay next to him. He grit his teeth. This could not go on, whether she wanted to or not; she had to deal with this. Why was she mad at him? Had he done something? Rogue rolled over to the other side of the bed and grabbed the bottle of water that they kept there in case of waking up thirsty. She opened it and Bobby held out his hand, "Here."  
  
She passed over the bottle but she did not look at him, "Thanks." Rogue took a drink of the now ice-cold water and held the bottle out to him again, "Do you want some?"  
  
He shook his head and glanced at the clock, they had been making lov . . .no they hadn't. They had been having sex for over two hours. She hadn't looked at him, she had kept her eyes closed mostly, and when they were open, they weren't looking at him.  
  
Bobby squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head as though trying to clear his thoughts, "Rogue, we have to talk about this."  
  
Her voice was innocent but she didn't look at him, "About what?"  
  
Rogue moved to climb out of bed, but Bobby put a hand on her arm and she stayed, "Don't. Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm saying. That's not fair. You didn't even look at me."  
  
Rogue fought back tears, "I . . .I don't know what you . . ."  
  
"Yes, you do know." Bobby crawled over her and reached for his shirt, "If you don't wanna talk to me, then fine don't but don't lie to me. That's not fair either."  
  
Rogue saw the pain in his eyes. She felt a stab of guilt, "I'm sorry."  
  
Bobby fastened the front of his jeans, "Don't be sorry, just tell me what I did," he held out his hands.  
  
Rogue frowned in confusion, "What you did?"  
  
"Did I say something wrong? I want to help you get through this, but if I said the wrong thing then I'm sor . . ."  
  
She cut him off, "No . . .no that's not it." She climbed out of bed and grabbed her robe, "I . . ."  
  
Bobby saw her shoulders shake and stopped dressing, "What? What's wrong, let me help you."  
  
She whirled round to face him, eyes flashing tears on her cheeks, "I don't deserve it! I don't deserve you! I killed two people and everyone is being so kind to me. I don't deserve to have you . . .love me. Do you understand? Two people are dead. Maybe they liked milkshakes, or taking long baths, but it doesn't matter now, because they're dead! I don't deserve to be comforted, I don't . . ." Her voice petered out.  
  
Bobby felt his heart ache. Rogues shoulders shook as she buried her face in her hands. He slowly moved over to her and pulled her to him.  
  
Rogue pushed against him pulling her, "No . . .I don't . . .you shouldn't . . ."  
  
She pushed against his hands, he fought against her trying to hold her, "Rogue, stop it, just stop it. It's okay. It'll be okay. Just calm down, please, calm down . . .Come here . . .stop fighting. Just come to me. Please let me help you."  
  
Rogue stopped fighting although she kept her arms wedged against his chest, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to kill them. I just . . .I saw you. You were bleeding and I thought you were dead."  
  
"But I wasn't. I'm here."  
  
"I thought you were going to leave me and that I was going to lose you."  
  
"You're never going to lose me. I swear it. Just . . .come here."  
  
Rogue held out for a second and then moved her arms around his neck and held him tightly to her.  
  
Bobby stroked her back. And then she did cry. She cried so hard that Bobby was almost afraid. She clung to him and just cried. Bobby picked her up and carried her back over to the bed. They lay together, her clinging to him like someone drowning and he let her cry.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby could tell when she stopped, and when she calmed down a little. Eventually he felt her start to trace patterns on the front of his shirt. "Are you okay?"  
  
Rogue shook her head, "No. But I will be, I'm better."  
  
He kissed the top of her head, "I have to tell you something."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I need you to know. I did something."  
  
She looked at him, worry etched on her face, "You can tell me."  
  
"Do you remember anything much about yesterday?"  
  
"I remember seeing you, cut and bleeding. I remember the feeling. That pulling sensation I get. I reached out, and then it was like I lost control. I felt something hot touch me and then I saw Pyro. I started to take his powers before he could hurt me. Then I pulled, out of them all. I . . ."  
  
"Okay," he ran his hands up and down her arms, "Well, Pyro did hurt you."  
  
"What? I'm fine."  
  
"Logan healed you. Pyro tried to stop you and he burnt you. It went straight through your uniform, one side of your face, your shoulder, and your back. You were badly burnt.  
  
Rogue eyes went wide, "Wow. Thank God for Logan and his healing powers I guess," she touched his face, "For more than one reason."  
  
He put his hand on top of hers and linked their fingers, "I wanted you to get something. You may have hurt people but you did it accidentally and out of panic. After I saw what he had done to you, I went to find Pyro. I froze his hands to the wall and we had a little chat. I told him to stay away from you. He wouldn't listen so I smashed one of his fingers. And I did it on purpose."  
  
Rogue didn't know what to say, "I . . ."  
  
"So now do you think you're the one who doesn't deserve me?" Bobby looked away from her eyes.  
  
Rogue touched his face, pulled it back to her she kissed him hard, and fully, "You were angry when you saw what he'd done that's all, you were afraid for me. It doesn't mean that you did something terrible. Okay, maybe looking back it would have been better not to, but it was a spur of the moment thing . . ." He cut her off with laughter, "What's so funny?"  
  
"You ever listen to your own arguments?"  
  
She smiled, "I get it. I just . . .I know . . .there wasn't anything else I could've done at the time . . .but I still . . ."  
  
"I know. You have to believe that though. You couldn't have done anything else. You saved me, and I took revenge on him for you. Maybe we were both wrong, but I'd do it again."  
  
Rogue looked into Bobby's face, remembering him bleeding, "So would I. As bad as I feel, I would do it again to save you."  
  
Bobby kissed her. She slid her hands up his back taking his shirt with her.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby pulled back from the kiss as they both relaxed slowly into each other's touch. He laid his head on her shoulder expecting to feel the sheets on his face, but instead he felt air. He opened his eyes and saw that they were only about a foot from touching the ceiling, "Um . . . Rogue?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Umm . . ."  
  
Rogue opened her eyes and felt the lack of pressure on her back where the bed should have been. She turned over and Bobby fell down with a shout. When she realised where she was she fell down too.  
  
She lay next to Bobby where she'd fallen gasping, she looked over and met his eyes, he was gasping too, "I . . .I think it's time to get a grip on these powers."  
  
Bobby nodded his eyes watering, "I think you may be right."  
  
She saw that he was in pain, "Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?"  
  
Bobby nodded, "You could say that." He reached underneath him, "I fell on the water bottle."  
  
Rogue tried not to laugh, really she did. 


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I own nothing and none of the characters, (that makes me cry myself to sleep every night).  
  
Distribution: Sure, just tell me where.  
  
, this is the link to the site were you can vote for Bobby and Rogue, in a poll, go, do it. One of my readers sent it to me and I promised that I would put it in with the next chapter I uploaded.  
  
Thank to all my reviewers, to those of you who didn't . . . well you are all evil. Enjoy and review. Let me know what you think.  
  
Quick note to ecofanat1c@aol.com, I can't seem to e-mail you the chapters, my hotmail account keeps saying it can't. Do you have another address? Or am I spelling it wrong? Anyway I'll try it again if you want.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue sat in her final class of the day, Math with Ororo, her mind wandering. Everything was quiet on the X-men front and life had returned to a pleasant monotony. The files had been carefully hidden and Magneto was not making his presence known for the moment. Perhaps recovering from his . . .shock, thought Rogue smiling.  
  
She had been coming along quickly with her new powers. It had taken surprisingly little practice for her to get a grip on them, they had been way easier to master than her own power. Rogue wondered if that's because they had been fully developed when she'd . . .acquired them. Rogue swallowed, it still stung her, but it was getting better.  
  
She had been planning where she and Bobby might be able to go for their holiday. The Professor had said that they could go for spring break, as long as nothing big cropped up.  
  
She smiled again as she thought about how her and Bobby's role in the X-men had changed and not changed at the same time. It was strange, when she saw Ororo in the hallway or if they met for a chat over the weekend she would call her Ororo, but when she was in class, she was Miss Munroe. It was the same with Scott.  
  
She knew that as far as the other X-men were concerned they were both, 'one of the team', but as teachers they couldn't show favouritism. But she and Ororo especially, had become close friends over the last few weeks. They tried to meet recreationally at least once a week. Rogue would never have dreamed of asking first. Ororo had initiated it. At first, Rogue had thought that it might be strange, but she found that she was glad of the friendship. They had a lot in common. The whole, 'mutant thing' and a love of expensive shoes.  
  
She stifled a yawn. It wouldn't be so bad if the damned classroom weren't so hot. She flushed as she thought back to second period, when she had been fanning herself with her hand and she had suddenly felt a cool breeze down her neck and back. She had turned around to see Bobby with a grin on his face. She wouldn't mind him doing that and possibly . . . other stuff as well.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby tapped his pen on top of his chemistry book. God, it was dull. It was very, very dull. And he was thirsty. Last lessons were always dull, because he was always thinking about what else he'd be doing soon. Usually this involved Rogue or something from the kitchen. Sometimes it involved both.  
  
He was thinking about where he'd drag her off too if they did get to go away on holiday. Somewhere by a lake would be good. She couldn't wear her disc under water but it'd still be good to go swimming together. They deserved a break. They'd been working hard and too much work was not good. He smiled. Play was good.  
  
Bobby kept tapping his pen on the book, and he looked up at the clock. Fifteen minutes. Ugh! He needed to get out of here. He rested his head on his other hand, his mind drifting to Rogue. Thank God that things had been quiet. She was dealing with enough as it was. The last thing she needed was anything else to go wrong. He'd been worried about her for a while, but she'd been coping better. And her with the new powers . . .wow. She'd got used to them so quickly, and they were useful, very useful. Like last night when . . . "Mr. Drake!"  
  
Bobby frowned unconsciously thinking, 'that's my name. Why's he saying my name?' "Yes sir?"  
  
"Would you kindly stop tapping your pen and pay attention."  
  
"Sorry."  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue turned the corner on her way back to the bedroom to drop off her bag just as Bobby came round the corner at the other end. Her eyes met his and she smiled, he retuned it and raised his eyebrows suggestively.  
  
She grinned wider and nodded. She walked calmly down the hall and opened the door with her key. She held the door open as Bobby walked through behind her slowly in a relaxed posture.  
  
She shut the door behind them.  
  
* * *  
  
"Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. Where the hell did I put it?" Rogue was wearing only her bra and panties searching for the skirt that had gone flying with the rest of the laundry pile when they had come through the door.  
  
Bobby was on his knees looking under the bed, "If I knew that I'd tell you where to find it."  
  
She laughed sarcastically, "Oh, so very helpful."  
  
He lifted his head and smiled at her, "You know I aim to please."  
  
She bent down and kissed him, "You usually manage."  
  
"Only usually?"  
  
She grinned and bit her lip leaning down to kiss him again, "Yeah . . .no! NO! I have got to get dressed and get going, I promised Kitty and Ju."  
  
Bobby held up his hands in mock innocence and surrender, "Hey, you were the one kissing me."  
  
"Yeah cause they were both my tongue."  
  
Bobby climbed to his feet and slid his hands around her waist, "Ooh, I love it when you corrupt me."  
  
She smiled grudgingly, "Well, you need corrupting now and again."  
  
"God, yes."  
  
She smiled more fully and slipped her arms back up and round his neck. He rubbed his cool hands over her hot body, "Umm, cold."  
  
"Nice?"  
  
"Very. Benefit of having an icy boyfriend."  
  
He slid his hands over her shoulders, neck and back as she moaned. He reached for the back of her bra and he thought for a minute she was going to help him with it. But then she stiffened and gently but firmly pushed him away, "Not a chance, I promised them. I haven't been a very good friend as of late." She laughed, "And you say it's me corrupting you?"  
  
"I stand by my statement."  
  
She wrinkled up her nose, "Hardly, now please help me find my skirt."  
  
He sighed, "You're really going?"  
  
"Yes, and anyway, you have practice."  
  
"I was going to skip . . ."  
  
"Don't you dare. Remember, the whole, 'healthy relationship' thing."  
  
"I don't wanna be apart."  
  
He pouted and she almost gave way, "Neither do I. Maybe I could say I had a headache or . . .no. I have to go. Unless you wanna take me to see a movie about a teenage girl giving her friend a make over and finding her dream guy?"  
  
He pretended to think about it for a minute seriously, "Well . . .maybe . . .umm no, Never, not a chance; when that happens Satan will be able to ice skate to work."  
  
"Then I need my skirt."  
  
He pulled out it from under the pillow, looking guilty, "I was hoping to persuade you to stay."  
  
She would have nagged but she was late. She settled for a glare, grabbed her wraparound skirt, and wriggled into it. "I'll see you later."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
She pulled the door open and almost ran down the hall calling back to him, "Shouldn't be too late. I love you!"  
  
He smiled and said quietly, "Love you too."  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue laughed as the three girls sat drinking milkshakes. She was having a surprisingly good evening. Okay, it wasn't as good as the ones with Bobby, but then none ever were.  
  
But overall, she had been having a good time. She'd missed her friends, she'd had so little time recently. She could tell that they blamed Bobby for it but it really wasn't his fault.  
  
If it was like now, with just Bobby, it would have been okay, but it wasn't actually like that. There'd been her testing at first, then she'd been learning to use her powers, then there'd been the mission. For a while after that, she couldn't bear to be away from Bobby for more than a few minutes at a time. But even after she'd gotten over that she'd still had the new powers to master and even though they hadn't been too hard, they still hadn't been easy.  
  
The school knew about her new powers. She had told a couple of her friends and said that it wasn't a secret. She'd just made it sound like her powers had developed on their own to that stage. She certainly wasn't going to tell them the rest, even if she'd wanted to, she couldn't because then the whole school would know about the mission. That wasn't possible.  
  
But now . . .well, she was starting to feel like maybe, just maybe, she could have it all. She could have Bobby, the man she loved, she could have friends, Ju, Kitty, Ororo, especially Logan, everyone else, and she could have a good life after school no matter what she chose to do. She didn't want to let herself think about this too much, if she did and it all went wrong . . .well, she'd deal.  
  
"Rogue? We lose you there?"  
  
She smiled, "No. No, you didn't lose me."  
  
They both caught the meaning in her voice and smiled, Kitty took her hand and squeezed it, "Good."  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby passed the ball to Colossus, and ran the length of the court to have it passed back to him. He sent it straight through the net. He was having a good time. He missed Rogue . . .a lot. But she was right. It would be bad for them to become completely dependant on each other, to forget their friends.  
  
He wanted to be with her all the time and he knew that she felt the same, but it was important not to shut other people out totally. And anyway, if they did separate things they could get back together afterwards. He grinned at the thought.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby pushed open his bedroom door with a towel hung around his neck, he'd been in desperate need of a shower, and he looked around the room. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of the devastation. Clothes everywhere, all the things that had been on top of the chest of drawers were now on the floor.  
  
Bobby slipped on a pair of boxers and started straightening up. It was funny, he thought, how quickly they'd just fitted into each other's lives. She had the three bottom drawers, he had the top two, and she had the left side of the wardrobe, him the right. The bottle of water was always left on his side, so he could cool it for her if she asked, and the phone and remote for the small portable TV were on her side.  
  
Bobby put a load of her clean clothes on hangers and her underwear in the drawers. She needed more drawers, he thought, but then he wasn't going to argue, he was very fond of her underwear. Her skin was beautiful when she wore the black lace.  
  
Checking to make sure that no socks had gone astray, he moved onto replacing things back on top of the chest of drawers. He was sure that there had been one more book on that pile, a big one. He saw it just behind the door. Picking it up he looked at the spine, but didn't actually read it. His eyes were drawn to the letters on the floor. They had forgotten about the mail. He grabbed the three letters.  
  
One of them was a letter from a book club that Rogue was a member of. The second was also for her; it was from a pen pal she had been writing to for years. The last one was addressed to him. He turned it over and saw that it had been posted in Boston; his heart gave an uncomfortable jolt. His family. He slid a finger under the envelopes flap and opened it.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue pushed open the door. She was still munching the last of her popcorn. She always got a huge tub and then had trouble finishing it. Bobby liked it though and he would be back by now.  
  
She pushed open the door and closed it with a wave of her hand, smiling at how easy it was getting. Her smile faded when she saw Bobby sat on the edge of the bed with his head resting on his hand, the other gripping a letter, "Bobby? What's wrong?"  
  
He looked up at her as though surprised to find her there, "Hey . . .oh . . .nothing. Nothing's wrong."  
  
She tipped her head to one side, "Bobby."  
  
He sighed and looked down, "I got a letter from my parents. They're . . .they're just well . . ."  
  
She sat down next to him and took his hand, "Talk to me."  
  
He gripped her hand tighter and handed her the letter. She hesitated; she didn't' want to pry. He seemed to read her thoughts, "I want you to read it."  
  
She took the letter.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby,  
  
By this time, we know you'll probably be back at that school. We were going to call you and talk about this but it would have been difficult. We wanted you to know that we love you, all of us. Ronnie is just hurting; he'll be okay eventually.  
  
But the problem is that you won't be. As far as we know, there isn't any cure for this, and as much as we love you, your time here only proved that your way of life; you, aren't compatible with us. You and your friends nearly killed six police officers. I don't know how that's viewed among your kind, but to us it's not acceptable.  
  
We think that maybe you'd be better off among those who are like you. We wish that there were some way around it but the fact remains that you aren't really human and after we saw what you did, we don't think that there's a place for you here. So, as much as it pains us, probably more than it does you, please don't come here again.  
  
Please know that we do love you, we just can't accept you into our lives as you have proved that you're dangerous. We have packed up all of your things and we would be pleased if you'd send us instructions as to what to do with them. We would of course send them on to you at our own expense.  
  
We're sorry to have to do this, but we just feel, all of us, that this is the best course of action open to all of us.  
  
Mom and Dad  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue felt her heart ache for him. She could feel the pain coming off him in waves and she wanted more than anything to take it away.  
  
She saw that he was shaking. It would probably have been better for him if they'd just sent him a letter saying that they hated him, but the way they'd written . . .as though it was for the best . . . it was so horrible.  
  
She took his hands and pulled him to his feet. She held him tight to her and waved a hand. The quilt and sheet moved back and she manoeuvred him so that they sat together on the bed. She moved her hand again and the blankets moved up over them.  
  
She held him tight to her as he shook.  
  
* * *  
  
Professor Xavier sat in his office writing out a letter to the President. He felt that it was time to re-open the channels of communication, especially after what had happened with the government officials. Eight of them had ended up dead.  
  
The Professor rubbed the skin between his eyes. This was not going to be easy. Almost as soon as he completed the thought, he heard someone cry out. They screamed out for help as he gripped the arms of his chair.  
  
But they weren't screaming aloud, they were screaming in his head, he gripped his temples. It wasn't painful, no . . .that was the wrong word. It was just . . .his eyes snapped open, he listened to the voice, it wasn't possible . . . he whispered aloud, "Jean?" 


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Someone else owns everyone and everything that isn't me.  
  
Distribution: Ask and you shall receive.  
  
Thanks, to all those who have reviewed, and to my beta who is not praised nearly enough. Jean Grey. One of my friends actually cried when she died, okay I did too, but that's not the point. Anyway, hope you enjoy the new bit, as always . . .review, review, review, review, review, review, review, review, review. Okay, so maybe I'm overdoing it just a teensy bit.  
  
I realise that it's been a hell of a long time since I updated and I'm sorry. But I do't have the internet at home and with being on holiday for the summer I didn't have access at college either. The expression, "I'm back!" covers it nicely. * * *  
  
She knew that he wasn't asleep. She hadn't slept and neither had he. He hadn't cried either. Rogue hurt for him. She didn't know what to say. Her mind was going over that damn letter. Then she was angry. How dare they? How dare they treat him like this? What gave them the right? She wanted to scream, but she didn't, she just tried to comfort Bobby.  
  
She lay half on him, with her left leg draped over the top of him. Her left hand rested on his chest and her other was by the side; her fingers entwined with his. His arm was round her back and now and again, it would tense and grip her, then relax again. When it did, she gave no sign that she noticed other than to her rub hand on his chest. She glanced at the clock. It was only one; he might get some sleep yet.  
  
Her mind wandered onto how they were going to deal with this, would he want to talk or would he . . .she jumped. Where was he? She didn't feel like she had moved but the sheet beneath her was cold; he wasn't there. She looked up and saw the clock, looking surprised. It was two a.m. Her eyes searched the room quickly and found him sat at the small desk against one wall.  
  
She rolled over and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, "Bobby?"  
  
Her turned and looked at her, "I . . . couldn't sleep."  
  
She got up and looked over his shoulder. He was replying to the letter, but unfortunately, he hadn't gotten any further than writing, 'Dear Mom and Dad.' She perched carefully on his lap and his arm snaked around her waist as though to steady her, "Do you . . . want me to help."  
  
He looked up at her, his eyes glistening, "Yeah. Please."  
  
She nodded, "Well, what do you want to tell them? Do you want to try to make them understand?"  
  
He shook his head vehemently, "No. I just . . . I just want to finish it. After . . . after that letter, I just want to finish it."  
  
She nodded, "Okay. Well what do you want to do about your things? Do you want to . . . to go and get them? Would you even want them here?"  
  
Bobby hesitated and looked down, "I don't know what I want. I don't think that I want them here. I don't think I could . . . maybe we could sell most of it. There's no clothes, only stuff like the bed, and my computer and furniture."  
  
She nodded, "Yeah. If that's what you want we'll sell it." She looked at what she could see of his face, trying to find something to say that wasn't so morbid, "Hey, maybe we could get something new. You know with the money. Maybe you could get a games console or something for in here."  
  
He smiled up at her, "Thanks."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For . . ." he searched for the word and smiled, "For being you." She blushed and he squeezed her waist, "Maybe we could get something for both of us?"  
  
She smiled, "We'll think of something."  
  
"Will . . . will someone else go and get it all? I don't wanna go back there."  
  
Rogue nodded, "Yeah, I'll go if you want, maybe take Logan to help me. We'll get it. At least they've seen us before."  
  
"No, I don't want you to have . . ."  
  
"It's okay. It won't take too long. Do you want me to take them a letter? Or not?"  
  
He thought for a moment, "Yeah. I want a chance to, you know . . . tell them . . . I don't know."  
  
She squeezed his shoulder, "It doesn't matter, and we'll figure it out."  
  
* * *  
  
Professor Xavier sat in his office trying desperately to feel for her. He had been sure it was her, but now he wasn't so sure. What if he was wrong? But it had felt so much like Jean. He had known her for nearly all of her life, he knew what she sounded like; felt like. He couldn't find her again though. She had been somewhere . . .he could use Cerebro. He just didn't know if he should.  
  
What if it had been her and he ignored it? He would never forgive himself. His hand strayed to the inter house phone. He was halfway through dialling Scott's number when he hesitated. Telling Scott would be the worst thing to do if he was mistaken. Ororo? No, she had been Jean's best friend. Logan? No. That would never work. Logan had become so attached to her so quickly.  
  
The Professor hesitated, they had only been on one mission, but . . . they were so gifted. He could send Kurt with them.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby put down his pen; he felt a hell of a lot better. Not good, still not good, but better. Rogue ran a hand down the nape of his neck and he leaned into her touch. He was better because of her. Because she loved him and he loved her, that's what would get him though this. Rogue took his hand and pulled him to his feet, slipping her arms around his waist, "Are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
She looked up at him, "Really?"  
  
"Yeah. Let's go to bed."  
  
She smiled, "Never a bad idea."  
  
They crawled into bed, a tangle of arms and legs. Rogue closed her eyes and sighed, feeling him kiss the top of her head. She waved her hand and the light switch moved to off. She was drifting off to sleep when the phone rang.  
  
Her eyes flicked open and she looked at Bobby, "This isn't happening. This isn't happening." He groaned as she reached down the side of the bed for the phone. She brought it up to her ear, feeling that she would much rather throw it out of the window, "Hello?"  
  
"Rogue?"  
  
She sat up in surprise, though she didn't know who she had expected, "Professor?"  
  
"Yes. Can you and Bobby come to my office? As soon as possible."  
  
"Is there something wrong Professor?"  
  
"I hope not."  
  
"Of course, we'll be there soon." She pressed the button to hang up and turned over to Bobby, "The Professor wants to see us now."  
  
He had caught the general idea just from her side of the conversation, "Did he say what was wrong?"  
  
She shook her head, "No. I just said we'd be there soon."  
  
"And we will."  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby and Rogue linked hands as they took the elevator to the right floor. As much as she hoped that there was nothing seriously wrong, she couldn't help but feel that this whole thing couldn't have come at a better time. She glanced over at Bobby; it would probably do him good to have something else on his mind. The elevator stopped and they got out, still keeping their fingers intertwined.  
  
Bobby and Rogue walked up to the Professor's door and knocked, "Come in." Bobby pushed open the door and they went in. Kurt was sat in the chair waiting for them. "Ah, good. I wanted to wait until you got here so that I would only have to explain it once."  
  
Rogue looked around for the others, "Where is everyone?"  
  
"I was actually only waiting for the two of you. I have a . . . favour to ask."  
  
Bobby looked at him curiously, "A favour?"  
  
"I had a . . . feeling tonight. It was like a telepathic communication."  
  
Understanding dawned on Rogue's face, "Does someone need help?"  
  
The Professor smiled awkwardly, "I'm not sure. You see the thing is . . . as far as I could tell, it was from Jean."  
  
Rogue raised her eyebrows, "Jean? But . . . Jean died Professor."  
  
"I know. That's why I'm only sending you three. There is a very large part of me that's telling me that this is insane, and not possible and . . ." he sighed. "I don't want to ignore this. I would never forgive myself if I didn't find out, but I don't want to get everyone's hopes up only to find that I had . . . I don't know, had a black out or a dream."  
  
Rogue nodded, "Okay . . . umm, do we know where we're going?"  
  
"Yes, I want to do this quickly and quietly. I want us all back here before morning."  
  
Bobby raised his eyebrows, "Us?"  
  
The Professor nodded firmly, "Yes. Us. Apart from anything else someone will have to go who can fly the jet."  
  
Rogue glanced over at Bobby; Jean might be alive. She didn't want to let herself think it. What if they were wrong? "Okay Professor. Whenever you're ready. Do you know where we're going?"  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue sat thinking. Only a few weeks ago they'd been sat here going on a different mission. A mission that nearly ended up with more than one of them dead and at the end of it, she'd had new powers. She was desperately hoping that this trip wouldn't be quite as traumatic.  
  
She glanced over her shoulder at Bobby; she had been right. It was doing him good to have something to think about other than that horrible letter. She scowled again at the thought of it.  
  
But her mind soon drifted back to Jean Grey. Could it be possible? Was it in any way possible? How could she have survived? The way the water had flowed, it went so quickly . . . how could it not have killed her. Tears stung Rogue's eyes. She had liked Jean so much; she had always been so kind to her.  
  
Rogue gripped the armrests, telling herself not to get her hopes up, not to let herself think that there may be a chance.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby stared at the back of Rogue's head; he could tell that she was worried. He was worried too. He could feel it as well, but he was confused. He was partly glad that he was doing something other worrying about that letter.  
  
He didn't believe that Jean could be alive. There was no way that she could have survived. The water must have weighed . . . anyway, there was no way that she could have survived it. It was impossible.  
  
* * *  
  
Professor Xavier landed the jet in the forests at the base of what was once the dam. He had told them that he had not been able to get a lock on her using Cerebro. As far as the machine was concerned, she was dead. But, interpreting his own intuitions, he had traced her to . . . well, here.  
  
They had already landed three times searching the various hospitals in the surrounding area. Rogue was beginning to lose hope this at the last one to check. There had been two potentials but no real luck.  
  
They had walked the rest of the way, as the jet landing in a less secluded area would be way too obvious. She glanced over at Bobby. It was only half past four and they were making good time but Rogue didn't want the mission to end. If it did end, then it would mean that any hope that she may have harboured was gone. That Jean Grey really was dead and was not coming back to any of them.  
  
Rogue reached for Bobby's hand and he squeezed it gently. Kurt stayed behind in the jet with the Professor, who said he would slow them down; he attracted too much attention, being blue and all. They walked for about twenty minutes and came to the hospital entrance.  
  
Pushing open the door Rogue went to the reception desk and went through the same motions she already had three times. The receptionist looked up at her, "Hello? May I help you?"  
  
"I certainly hope so. I am looking for my aunt. She was meant to be coming on a weekend trip up here and while she was here, we heard about that terrible accident with the dam. We haven't heard from her since. I've been checking around all the hospitals to see if anyone's heard or seen anything of her. Or . . . well you know, if anyone . . . found her."  
  
The woman on the desk looked very sympathetic and nodded slightly, "Of course I understand. Can you give me a description?"  
  
"Yes, she is about five feet, six, maybe seven. She has brown eyes and short brown hair. She's beautiful."  
  
The receptionist nodded, "Do you have a picture?"  
  
Rogue nodded, they had learnt at the first hospital that the staff was more cooperative if there was some proof that you knew the person. She took a picture from her pocket. It was about six months old, "She's had her hair cut, it's shorter now."  
  
The receptionist looked a the picture, "There are currently three women here that have not been identified as I understand it. One of them is much younger than this and the other is ash blonde. I, of course, have not actually seen them, but I can have a doctor come and take you to see the other."  
  
Rogue smiled and nodded, "Thank you." The second hospital they'd been to had also said they had a woman answering Jean's vague description, Rogue would not allow herself to get too hopeful. She moved back over to Bobby's side, "The woman said that a doctor would come and take us to see a woman answering Jean's description."  
  
Bobby nodded, "Okay, good."  
  
As it turned out it was a nurse that came down to see them, "I understand that you may know one of our anonymous patients."  
  
Bobby nodded, "Yes, we think that it may be a possibility."  
  
The nurse nodded, "Okay, if you would follow me."  
  
The nurse led them into the elevator and the doors shut with a mechanical clinking finality that made Rogue shudder. It sounded so final. The lift slid up to the seventh floor. Rogue kept gripping Bobby's hand tighter and he didn't stop gripping hers. He didn't believe that Jean was alive. It couldn't be.but, he could feel the belief that Rogue still had, still dared to hope; that the woman may somehow and miraculously survived.  
  
The lift stopped and the doors opened. Bobby could tell right away that this was the intensive care unit of the hospital. There were very few sounds, but there was a steady beeping coming from various areas, giving the overall effect of a jerky whine.  
  
The whole place smelled of a mixture of bleach and disinfectant. All the patients were comatose, giving Bobby the unpleasant sensation of walking through a mass of bodies. He shivered. He hated to think that anyone he knew could end up like this, unaware of the world and just existing, not living. It was terrible. If they knew for sure that the patients were going to wake up eventually then it wouldn't be so bad, but they didn't know that. There was a possibility that some of them would never wake up, just lie here forever or until the grieving relatives gave in and had the machines turned off; consenting to let their loved ones slip away.  
  
His mind was wandering onto even more morbid subjects as they walked between the rows and rows of beds. Suddenly he almost crashed into Rogue who had stopped walking. He looked at her as though to ask her why she had stopped, but she wasn't looking at him, she was staring straight ahead.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue walked down the aisle between the hospital beds that had the headboards next to the walls. Could it be possible that Jean was here, among all of these people? What would she look like if she were? Would she be hooked up to machines? Would she be cut, bruised, scarred? Would she even look like Jean?  
  
Rogue suddenly found herself feeling scared. She wasn't entirely sure that even if the woman was Jean that she wanted to see her. If she wasn't Jean then she most definitely didn't, but she didn't see how she could possibly back out now.  
  
The nurse leading them stopped and held her hand out in front of her, indicating a bed on Rogue's left. She turned abruptly and stared. She felt Bobby walk into her, but she didn't think she could move.  
  
* * *  
  
The woman on the bed was pale; she had the pinched look of someone who has lost weight very quickly. But even though her skin had a greyish tinge to it, Rogue knew, this wasn't Jean Grey. 


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I own no one but me.  
  
Distribution: Ask nicely, offer sexual favours, and I'll see what I can do, hehe.  
  
Yeah, I know, I'm so incredibly mean it isn't true. I know the drill; I'm evil. Got your hopes all up and then dashed them. Well, that's life . . .  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue felt her eyes fill with tears. This was the last place; they were not going to find her. Rogue had tried not to hope, really she had. But she now knew that she had clung to the very possibility that Jean might be alive. Rogue lifted one hand to cover her face as the tears started. Bobby pulled her to him, holding her as she buried her face in his chest.  
  
Bobby saw the nurse look at them both sympathetically, "I take it that this is not the woman that you're looking for."  
  
Bobby shook his head, smiling politely at the nurse, "No, I'm afraid it isn't," he sighed, "Thank you for your time though."  
  
She nodded, "Of course."  
  
Rogue moved away slightly and turned to face the nurse, "Yes, thank you." She took a deep breath, "Well, I hope that whoever this woman belongs to, they find her." She glanced down. It was so horrible that this woman was lying here, no one who knew her, to claim her, to even care that she was here. No one to even give her a name. Rogue looked at the clipboard at the end of the bed, she frowned, 'Erika Appleby'. "Umm, nurse?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
Rogue pointed at the board, "I thought you said that no one had identified this woman?"  
  
The nurse nodded, "No one has."  
  
"Well, then how does she have a name?"  
  
The nurse frowned in confusion, "I have no idea. Let me just go and speak to the nurse on duty."  
  
The nurse walked down the aisle and Rogue looked at Bobby, "Do you think that they just named her . . . like, anything?"  
  
He shrugged, "It's possible." He looked at her face, "Are you okay?"  
  
Her lip trembled as she fought the tears, "Yeah . . . no."  
  
He put his arms around her again, resting her head on his shoulder. He looked down the rows of beds; the sooner they got out of here the better.  
  
Rogue hugged him, she just wanted to go, she'd had enough. Then she felt Bobby's back tense under her hands. She moved back and looked up at him, "What's wrong?"  
  
His mouth hung open as he stared over her shoulder. He opened his mouth as though to speak, but words seemed to fail him. He pointed down the row. Rogue turned and looked at each bed after the other. About four beds down, in a white hospital gown, her skin almost white, lay Jean.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue felt her knees give way beneath her, and Bobby's hand slipped under her elbow to prop her up. She gripped his arm for a second steadying herself, "Nurse!"  
  
The woman moved quickly back down the aisle talking to them, "It seems that the woman was moved today, just further down the row, I can show . . ." the nurse's voice trailed off as she saw where they were looking, "Is this the woman you're looking for?"  
  
Bobby turned and looked at her mutely, he cleared his throat and fought to speak, "Umm . . . yes."  
  
The nurse nodded, "Okay. Can you tell us her name?"  
  
Bobby opened his mouth but Rogue spoke first, "Marie Summers," she said, giving her own first name and Scott's last name.  
  
Bobby didn't hesitate to nod and confirm. The nurse didn't seem to find anything suspicious, "Well, I think perhaps you should both sit down." Bobby took one of the chairs next to Jean's bed and Rogue took the other one, "Your aunt? I believe?"  
  
Rogue nodded, "Yes."  
  
"Well, I am sorry to tell you that, it is very unlikely . . . there is little chance that she will ever wake up. There is little wrong with her physically, but her brain has simply shut down, this can sometimes be a reaction to shock. She has been here for several months now, and with this type of coma . . . well the patient can wake up any time . . . but when it lasts this long . . . well, it becomes less and less likely that it will ever happen. We are feeding her intravenously at the moment, she is not needing any other treatment from us." The nurse took a breath as these words sank in, "When she first arrived, a fisherman reported a woman lying on the banks of the river, she was severely bruised and she had a broken wrist, all of which have since healed." She took in the devastated looks on their faces. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but you have to know and prepare yourselves for the possibility of her never waking up; for now she is . . ." the nurse seemed to search for a delicate way of putting it, "Not really there anymore. For all intents and purposes, she's brain-dead."  
  
Bobby put his arm around Rogue's shoulder; she suddenly looked very small. Then he saw her jaw tighten, she looked up at the nurse, "We . . . we'll be back. I need to make a phone call."  
  
The nurse nodded sympathetically, "Of course."  
  
Rogue smiled politely, gripped Bobby's hand, and led the way down the hall.  
  
* * *  
  
When they reached the edge of the parking lot Bobby stopped pulling Rogue to a halt, "Are you all right?"  
  
To his surprise she smiled up at him, quite sincerely, "Yes." She set off again almost dragging him behind her.  
  
He was confused, "The nurse said that she was . . . well, that she was brain-dead."  
  
Rogue shook her head, "That's not true."  
  
"Rogue . . ."  
  
She shook her head firmly and stopped turning to face him, "Before you decide that I'm going nuts remember that Jean called out to the Professor. She called out to him and she managed to reach him. Some form of her is still in there, and while it's not enough, it's still a chance."  
  
Bobby thought about this for a second, "Yeah, I guess your right."  
  
She slipped her arms round his neck and kissed him firmly, "God, it turns me on when you say that."  
  
* * *  
  
The Professor lowered the jet's ramp and the two climbed in, he looked at them, "Well?"  
  
Rogue smiled, "You were right Professor. She's alive. More than that, she's not even dependant on machines, except for food. The nurse said that she was in some kind of coma."  
  
The Professor looked as though he was going to faint, "Oh, thank God."  
  
Rogue smiled again though this time she was questioning, "So . . . what now?"  
  
The Professor set his jaw, "We take her home."  
  
Bobby squirmed uncomfortably, "Umm, Professor we can't just waltz in there and remove her. It's a hospital."  
  
"I can control all their minds. Stop them for a while, just enough time for us to get her."  
  
Kurt spoke for the first time, "Can we really do that? I mean, like he says, it's a hospital. Things are going on in there that cannot just be forced to take a break, "Emergency operations for example? What if a patient had a heart attack and the doctors were too deeply under . . . whatever to notice."  
  
Rogue could tell that in the Professor's haste to get Jean back he had not considered this, she thought for a moment, "I think that I may have an idea."  
  
All eyes turned to look at her.  
  
* * *  
  
The Professor was wringing his hands; Kurt could tell how nervous he was. She had never done anything like this before, it was dangerous and she might not be able to pull it off, still . . . it was the only plan that they had.  
  
They had to get Jean out of there; it wasn't safe for her to stay in there. If Magneto were to learn that she was not dead, well, it was dangerous. There was no guarantee that he would prove a danger, but it was very possible that he might. And anyway, they could do more for Jean at the mansion.  
  
The Professor looked over at him, they were both worried.  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue took several deep breaths, her entire body was shaking; Bobby was gripping her arms from behind, holding her tightly to him, trying to calm her down. "You can do this you know."  
  
She nodded as though trying to convince herself of the truth in his words, "I know, I think . . . I can do this." She looked at him, "Stay close?"  
  
"I will."  
  
Rogue closed her eyes and breathed deeply. She concentrated; she concentrated with all her might on wanting to be up there, wanting to be up there, wanting to be up there, wanting to be up . . .her feet left the ground, her eyes flicked open and she counted the windows as she soared upwards. Two, three, four, five, six, seven. She moved slowly from window to window sideways, looking in at each until she saw Jean. Her breath caught in her throat. It was time.  
  
She had never tried to use this power through glass before but she could see no reason why it shouldn't work. She focused on the needle that was feeding Jean intravenously. She held up her hand and moved it towards her. As she did so, the needle moved, it came free of the woman's skin and Rogue laid it on the bed.  
  
Rogue let out a breath that she had barely known she was holding. Well, that was the easy part. Carefully, and oh, so slowly, she lifted both her hands, sliding the window frame upwards silently. She flicked the latch sideways and it held the window in place.  
  
It was a still night and there was no breeze. She thanked God; otherwise there would have been a chance that the nurse on duty would have felt the wind. Rogue realised that once she'd positioned herself here she'd barely had to think about it to remain here, suspended in mid air.  
  
Rogue looked in at Jean, she looked just as though she were sleeping. She just hoped that she wouldn't disturb her too much. She used both hands and all her concentration to lift the mattress on which Jean lay and guided it towards the window; fortunately it was directly behind it so it wasn't too much trouble. The mattress was not even as wide as a single. It was a typical hospital mattress, just wide enough to hold a body.  
  
It slid towards the window slowly. Rogue let out a sigh of relief when she saw the end of the mattress slip through the opening. She pulled it towards her as she moved backwards through the air. When the mattress was all the way through the window, she began to bring herself and Jean down towards the floor.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby watched her in amazement. She was moving downwards through the air, supporting Jean at the same time. She was amazing. And yet, she seemed to have no idea how powerful she was. She almost seemed afraid of it. But she could do incredible things with her gifts. She was doing amazing things even as he thought about it.  
  
Bobby watched as she touched down next to him, still supporting Jean about two feet off the ground, she turned to him and smiled slightly, "You'd think that doing this would tire me out, but so far it doesn't do anything of the kind. It just . . . feels like breathing. It feels that natural."  
  
He reached out and touched her face, "It is natural, and it's part of you now."  
  
She seemed to consider this; "We should get Jean to the Blackbird."  
  
He nodded, "Yeah."  
  
Keeping off the road out of sight, the two of them moved through the town towards the Blackbird. Rogue was now using one hand to pull Jean behind them. As they approached, the ramp was lowered, and using both hands, she eased Jean through the door. The Professor came down to meet them, his eyes fell on Jean and he reached down and tenderly touched her face, "Oh, thank God. Oh, thank you God."  
  
Rogue smiled and lowered the mattress, she turned to Bobby who took her hand, and smiled back at her.  
  
* * *  
  
The Blackbird descended, down through the basketball court, which closed up over their heads. The Professor had unnerved them all by constantly looking back to Jean as though trying to convince himself that she really was there, that she was real, and not dead.  
  
Rogue stepped in front of the mattress once more as the ramp descended. She lifted Jean and began slowly making her way towards the infirmary. She stared down at the woman. She didn't know what repercussions this was going to cause, she had no idea, but she did know that no matter what pain this caused, it was going to cause a lot more happiness. She opened the doors of the infirmary with a wave of one hand, while holding Jean steady with another.  
  
Soon the woman was gently deposited on one of the beds and covered up warmly. Rogue took a deep breath. This was the hard part, telling everyone else.  
  
* * * 


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I own nothing, everything belongs to someone else, *sigh* life is so unfair.  
  
Hey, and hi there to all my reviewers and to readers who don't review, (you're all evil).  
  
Majorly fluffy chapter here, you may have noticed by now that I like to make them all happy and then screw it up for them again. Well we're definitely at a fluff stage.  
  
I don't know much about the Dark Phoenix thing for Jean Grey so I'm just going to make up my own story for her. We'll see how it goes.  
  
* * *  
  
Scott Summers stood in the centre of his room staring at Professor Xavier, "You . . . you're saying that Jean is alive?" The Professor merely nodded. Scott shook his head and fought tears, "You're . . . you're wrong, there's no way, it's not possible . . ."  
  
The Professor held his hands out in front of him, "Scott, I know that this may be hard for you to accept, but it is the truth. I felt her presence and we went to find her."  
  
Scott's eye's flashed, "Who? Who went to find her?"  
  
"I went. I also took Kurt, Rogue and Bobby."  
  
Scott frowned, "No . . . it can't . . . if it were true, why didn't you take me and Storm? Or even Logan?!"  
  
The Professor shook his head; "I didn't want to raise your hopes when I was, by no means, absolutely certain." Scott looked ready to argue again, "We have brought her home. Why don't you come and see her?"  
  
For a moment the younger man looked absolutely terrified at the very prospect, "I . . . I . . . I can't . . ."  
  
The Professor leant forward, a smile growing on his face, "Yes Scott. You can."  
  
* * *  
  
Scott Summers flatly refused to believe his eyes. He had spent months getting over the loss, he had barely made a dent in it, and now here she was looking pale and thin but otherwise unharmed. 'No, this couldn't be happening . . . Oh god, please let her be real.' Scott raised a hand carefully and placed the tips of his fingers on her cheek. 'Oh God, she is real.' Scott felt his knees give way. He knelt by the side of the bed holding Jean's hand in his, not bothering to fight the tears that trickled down his face.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby and Rogue stood next to the Professor watching, feeling slightly uncomfortable and at the same time so happy it was choking them all.  
  
Bobby's hand tightened on Rogue's. Rogue had very nearly joined Jean on the list of casualties of that mission. He could remember the panic that had coursed through him as she had been pulled out of the jet. He had been close to undoing his own seat belt and following her. If she had died . . . he had spoken to Kurt as soon as they had gotten back to the mansion and thanked him.  
  
He had never been in debt to anyone like he was to Kurt. But, that feeling.that blind panic. That momentary taste had been enough to help him understand a little of what Scott had been going through. His sympathy for the older man . . . and now. He watched as Scott held Jean to him, clinging to her as though nothing would ever convince him to ever let go of her. His hold tightened again on Rogue's hand, enough to draw her attention to him, she turned, and he saw the tears in her eyes as she smiled. She had almost lost him too.  
  
* * *  
  
The Professor drew Rogue off to the side with Bobby, "I thought that Ororo and Scott might like a moment with Jean, but also I wanted to ask you something."  
  
Rogue nodded, "Okay, what's up?"  
  
"I think that you should go and tell Logan about Jean. He . . . trusts you. You're family to him; the only family that he has. I think that you should be the one to tell him."  
  
Rogue's eyes slipped to the floor as she took this in and then she nodded, "Of course."  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby was waiting for her back at the hospital wing, and she was standing outside Logan's room trying to get up the nerve to go inside. How was she going to tell him? She had no idea what to say, let alone where to start. She raised her hand to knock but lost her nerve, she just needed a few minute to think. She glanced at her watch; she had only been standing there nineteen minutes.  
  
Before she could make the decision to knock again the door opened revealing a sleepy looking Logan, "What's up kid? It's nearly quarter to six. There's no way that I can even try to sleep with you dancing back and forth out here."  
  
Rogue bit her lip, "I wasn't dancing."  
  
"Well okay then, wandering. Either way, is there something we need to talk about?"  
  
Rogue nodded, "Yes, we really, really do."  
  
Something about the seriousness in her voice caught his attention, "Is something wrong? Are you alright?"  
  
"Oh, yes. It's just . . . we do need to talk."  
  
Logan stood back from the door allowing her inside. Rogue flopped down into the chair in the corner of the room. She took a deep breath as he sat down on the edge of his bed opposite her, the best place to start, she guessed, was the beginning. "Bobby and I were just getting to sleep tonight at about two thirty when we got a call from the Professor, he told us to come to his office." She hesitated for a second, not sure of the best way to phrase it, "Well he told us that we were going to be needed for a mission, one that he wanted completed before morning. He'd received a message from someone that we had to go and help."  
  
Logan nodded, "Okay, did you help them?"  
  
"I think so." Rogue said almost laughing at the irony, "We checked all the surrounding hospitals because the Professor couldn't get a lock on them. But in the end, we did find . . . her. We found her and brought her back here."  
  
Logan looked confused, "Okay. And that's a good thing, right?"  
  
"Logan, the woman that the Professor got a message from.the woman was Jean Grey."  
  
Logan didn't seem to register exactly what she had said for a few seconds. He looked confused, as though his brain was trying to make the words she'd said mean something else, "What? That's . . ." then his faced turned sympathetic, "Rogue, for a while, I kept thinking that she'd come back too, but it's not gonna happen. She died."  
  
Rogue realised that Logan didn't believe her, "Logan, look at me." He met her eyes, "We went and brought Jean home. She is in the hospital wing right now. Scott and Ororo are with her. She is not dead, she is alive."  
  
Logan was struck by the sincerity of her tone. He looked into her face for another second before deciding that she was obviously telling the truth. He leap to his feet, "I've gotta see her."  
  
He headed for the door, and Rogue followed, "Logan, wait." He didn't seem to hear her, he just kept moving down the hall. Rogue felt herself panic slightly; Logan could not just rush in there with Ororo and Scott. She knew that as far as Scott was concerned it had nothing to do with Logan, he preferred to believe that Logan was irrelevant. "Logan, WAIT!" He did not slow down. Hating herself for doing it, she stretched out an arm and brought him to a standstill.  
  
For a moment, Logan didn't seem to realise what had happened then he turned his head around to face her, "What are you doing?"  
  
"I'm sorry Logan, but you didn't listen. She's there. She's there with Ororo . . . and Scott. You can't jut run in there, you have to calm down."  
  
Logan for a moment looked furious and then what she was actually saying seemed to penetrate his head. He took a deep breath, "I get it. It's okay."  
  
She dropped her hand and he relaxed, "I'm sorry, I didn't know what else to . . ."  
  
Logan cut her, off, "No, you were right, you did the right thing. I could have just run in there. It wouldn't have been right."  
  
Rogue smiled slightly, "I'm still sorry."  
  
"I know that you are. Don't worry, I'm calm. Shall we go?"  
  
Rogue nodded and walked over to him, she slipped her hand into his and squeezed, "Okay, let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue stood, still holding Logan's hand tightly as he stood next to the door, staring over at Jean. He kept staring at her, frowning slightly, blinking, and staring at her again, as though he was trying to convince himself that this wasn't a dream; that she was actually there.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby watched. He didn't know what to say, what could he possibly say that was going to make it better for the guy? The woman he loved was there, being watched over by someone who wasn't him. He knew that Logan was just glad that Jean was alive, but he would have been even happier if he could have been the one in there.  
  
Bobby glanced over at Rogue who sensed him looking at her and returned his gaze. She smiled slightly at him, and he returned it. He knew that she was feeling Logan's pain with him.  
  
She was trying to offer him some measure of comfort, and for the first time, Bobby found that he wasn't jealous of the older man. He had been. He had been unbelievably jealous at one point.  
  
Bobby couldn't quite put his finger on when, but he knew that he had realised, Rogue loved him, more than she loved anyone else; more than she ever had loved anyone else, more than she ever would, just like he loved her. And because of that, he didn't mind that she loved other people too. He didn't feel that need for total possession, because she was his, and he was hers, and that was pretty much all that mattered.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby walked over to Rogue's sleeping form. She was curled up on a chair. Logan had asked her to stay for a while. He had just stood next to the observation glass and she had pulled up a chair behind him. Bobby had gone over to talk to him, "I know that it's a dumb question, but are you . . ." he had been going to say 'alright' but that was just too stupid, "Are you coping?"  
  
Logan turned slightly, "Yeah. It . . . it hurts that I'm not in there, but . . ." his face broke out into a smile, "She's alive. That's enough."  
  
Bobby nodded, "Yeah."  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby slipped an arm beneath Rogue and lifted her into his grasp. She sighed slightly and snuggled against his chest. He glanced over at Logan, "Do you mind if I take her back to bed. We have classes in like two hours."  
  
Just as he spoke Scott pushed open the door, "Don't worry about that, I think that the two of you are going to come down with a case of isolated food poisoning."  
  
Bobby smiled, "Thanks."  
  
Scott laughed, "Are you kidding? You're thanking me? I'm never gonna be able to thank the two of you. Not really. Not enough." Scott's eyes fell on Logan, he seemed to harden for a second and then soften, "Are you coming in to see her or not?"  
  
Logan looked surprised and then grateful, "Yeah, thanks."  
  
Scott held the door open and Logan walked though it, "Take her to get some sleep. You too."  
  
Bobby smiled and walked out.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby sighed, a little of Rogue's telekinesis might have proved very useful right about now. He slipped her legs up to the crook of his arm and twisted the doorknob. The door slid open. Kicking it shut behind him, he was incredibly thankful that neither of them had remembered to lock it in their haste to get to the Professor.  
  
Bobby gently laid Rogue on the bed. She sighed and reached out towards his usual side of the bed and Bobby knew that she was feeling for him. A slight frown marred her features when she didn't find him. He smiled and eased her feet out of her shoes. He moved to put them under the desk where they kept all of them and his eyes fell on the letter that he had written to his parents.  
  
He smiled slightly when he thought about how only a few hours ago the letter he had received had devastated him. Now he understood something. He didn't need them anymore. His eyes fell on the sleeping girl. He had her. And it wasn't even just that, though that would have been enough. He had them all. Ororo, Scott, Logan, the Professor, Kurt, Kitty, Jubes, and now Jean, and there were more. They were all together.  
  
He tore the letter in half inside its envelope. He sat down, he thought back to the other, he had said a lot of things that he thought needed saying, now . . .  
  
* * *  
  
Dear Mom and Dad,  
  
I'm sorry that you feel that way, but it's your decision of course. I will send this letter with the people, the mutants who come to collect my things.  
  
Robert.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby moved back over to the bed, he carefully undressed Rogue, slipping one of her ridiculously large t-shirts over her head. He smiled as he thought how gorgeous she looked in them. He was about to move her to pull the blankets from under her when her eyes flicked open, "I was going to help you but it felt good."  
  
He grinned down at her, "I bet." He undressed himself flinging his clothes in the laundry basket, and climbing over her to his side of the bed, "Lift."  
  
He made as though to pull the blankets from under them if she moved a little, she smiled, "Nah." She raised a hand to him and they both moved about six inches off the bed. He gasped and she pushed the blankets down the bed. They landed softly and were covered again. She moved over and snuggled down into his arms. "Mmm."  
  
He slipped his arms around her, pulling her body against his. "Well, do you think it's been somewhat of an eventful day?"  
  
She raised her head and smiled into his face, "I think that's like saying the Antarctica is somewhat nippy."  
  
"Yeah, have to agree." He drifted into thought for a second, "I can't believe she's back."  
  
"I just . . . I'm scared that tomorrow it'll be a dream and she won't be."  
  
He shook his head, "Different minds."  
  
She touched his cheek, "Sometimes I wonder."  
  
"Me too."  
  
She frowned slightly, "Were you . . . you looked a little intense when we were watching Jean with Logan."  
  
Bobby could tell from the look on her face that she was asking if he was mad at her for trying to comfort Logan. He pretended to think, "Well . . . you know I might have been mortally and emotionally wounded that you weren't standing with . . ." he was going to tease her but the look of horror on her face was too much, "No, I'm teasing. It was fine."  
  
She looked at him hesitantly, "Are you sure?"  
  
He nodded, "I had something of an epiphany."  
  
"Yeah? How so?"  
  
He took a breath trying to think how to put it, "I guess . . . I got it. You know, that you love me."  
  
She looked confused, "It's taken you 'til now to figure that out?"  
  
"No. I mean, that you loved ME. Me more than anyone. That I didn't need to compete because I'd already got you. You're mine and . . ."  
  
She smiled, "And you're mine." She leaned up and kissed him. After a second she moved away and propped herself up with both hands on his chest, "Do you really get it? That I love you. You. I have never and will never love anyone as much as I love you." He lifted a hand to her face and she shivered and sighed in pleasure at his touch, her eyes drifting shut. After a second she opened her eyes again, "See? All you have to do is touch me and I melt."  
  
He smiled and pulled her to him kissing her hard and full. He loved her so much. His tongue rubbed gently, teasingly, against hers.  
  
It was a good thing they had time to sleep in. 


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I own nothing, which pretty much sums it all up.  
  
Hey to all, moving on with the story. I have written the final chapter of the story so I know where I am actually aiming for now. Good thing, gives me . . .direction.  
  
Anyway, this is the final chapter of this story. No. Not in the sense of actual chapters. I see, the break up as one chapter, the first mission as one chapter, and the finding of Jean as another, when I say chapter I sort of mean story arc. A few more chapters, as it's kind of a biggy. Enjoy.  
  
* * *  
  
"We can do this. It's possible, but there are things that are necessary . . . things that will have to be done. Do you understand?"  
  
Pyro nodded, "I understand. Do you need anything?"  
  
Magneto smiled, laying on his bed. He had not been quite the same since his last encounter with the X-men, he was getting better but it was taking time, and time was something that they did not have in abundance. The boy was going to be put to good use; he was going to have to be. They could not wait much longer, his own mortality had been placed in front of him with this accident, it couldn't wait any longer. They couldn't afford time wasting. Magneto needed him; Mystique could only do so much on her own. "I have the information on each of the mutants that we have to . . . deal with."  
  
Magneto pointed to the sheaf of papers at the bottom of the bed on the table. Pyro picked them up and flipped through, he stopped when he came to the picture of a girl, beautiful with a prominent white streak in her hair, "She's in here?"  
  
Magneto nodded, "I was hoping that she wouldn't be a necessary element, but her powers have grown so quickly . . . she is a danger."  
  
Pyro nodded and swallowed, "What do you want to do to them?"  
  
Magneto raised his eyebrows, "Do you care?"  
  
Pyro looked down at his hand, the one with a finger missing and realised something. He didn't. He had told himself that he didn't care for weeks, months, and for the first time, he meant it, "No."  
  
Magneto finally believed him, "I don't want to kill mutants unless it is absolutely necessary and at present it is not necessary. You will simply . . . take them out of action with Mystique's and my help."  
  
"Okay. When?"  
  
"Almost now."  
  
* * *  
  
Rogue knocked on the door. Within twenty seconds, a woman with short dark hair opened it, revealing Bobby's mother. Rogue fought hard not to glare at the woman harshly, "Mrs. Drake, I'm Rogue. Do you remember me?"  
  
The woman went pale, "Of course," her eyes flicked to Logan who was standing behind Rogue, "Professor Logan."  
  
Logan nodded, "We're here for Bobby's things."  
  
The woman looked surprised, "Oh."  
  
Rogue held out the letter, "He sent this to you and told us to get everything." She tried not to sound too harsh, "Where is it?"  
  
Bobby's mother looked like she was about to argue with the younger girl's tone, but she seemed to think the better of it; of arguing with an obviously pissed off mutant. "Everything's boxed up and in the garage. I'll show you."  
  
The fact the she closed the door and led them around the house, not through it, did not escape either Rogue or Logan. They followed the woman in silence, and let her open the door for them. Rogue glanced around and turned to Logan, "Do you think it'll all fit in the back of the van?"  
  
Logan seemed to case it all up, "Yeah, yeah, it should do." He looked at her and indicated the contents of the garage. There was a disassembled bed, several bags whose contents were probably fabric, clothes and the like, and there were about twelve very large boxes, "Yeah, can you . . . you know?"  
  
Rogue nodded, "Sure, I don't think I've found a limit yet, interesting test case. Just go open the doors and bring the van 'round?"  
  
Logan seemed to hesitate, and looked to the woman, "You'll be okay?"  
  
She smiled, "Yeah, fine." Logan turned and walked away. Rogue's eyes flicked back to the woman, and she noticed that she was not much taller than herself. And she had hurt him so much, granted he was okay with it now, but what gave her the right? What gave her the right to hurt her own child like she had hurt Bobby?  
  
Rogue didn't know why she was asking; her own parents had done pretty much the same thing. Anger flashed in her and she struggled to swallow what she wanted to say, "Could you move please?"  
  
The woman stared, "Are you not taking Bobby's things?"  
  
Rogue nodded, "Of course we are, that's what we came for."  
  
"Then where has he . . ?"  
  
Rogue clicked her tongue impatiently, "He's gone to get the van. I'm bringing the things."  
  
The woman blatantly looked Rogue up and down and almost scoffed, "Oh yeah."  
  
Rogue had been waiting for her to move herself, now she was losing her temper. "Yeah."  
  
"How?"  
  
She raised both hands and everything in the garage moved about four feet off the ground, "Pretty much like this. Now move or I'm going to make you."  
  
She had almost fallen over when everything had lifted off the floor, "How . . ?"  
  
Rogue almost wanted to say honestly, 'I killed two people and stole their powers', just to see the woman's face, but she restrained herself, "You know I'm a mutant." She grit her teeth as the woman stared at her like she was a freak. Rogue just wanted to get out of there, "Now please, move."  
  
The older woman scowled, "You can't tell me what to do, you can't make me. This is my home."  
  
"If it wasn't your home, I wouldn't have asked you first. Now I'm telling you." She didn't move, she just stood there defiantly. Rogue flicked a finger and the woman moved backwards about four feet away from the garage and stumbled as she stopped moving. Rogue made sure that she didn't fall, and then she started walking away, bringing the contents of the garage with her. "Logan?"  
  
"Ready!"  
  
She opened the doors and piled everything carefully in the back. Just as she was getting in herself, Bobby's mother appeared back in front of the house, Bobby's open letter in her hand, "Hey!"  
  
Rogue turned around, "What?"  
  
"Tell Bobby . . . Tell Bobby . . ." The woman couldn't seem to force the words out, "Tell him that I'm sorry it had to be this way."  
  
Rogue felt her body tense in anger; she jumped down from the van and walked back to the woman, ignoring Logan calling to her. She stared the woman in eyes, her own full of barely contained fury, "It. Did. Not. Have. To. Be. This. Way. You chose it to be this way. We are not dangerous, we don't WANT to hurt anyone, in case you didn't know, I was the reason that the cops didn't die.  
  
"I'm not ashamed of us, but you should be ashamed, of you. You chose to abandon your own son, because there is something about him that you don't understand. It's not something bad, or evil, or dangerous, it's just something you don't understand. You might have learned to understand it. He is a good person; one of the best and you could've still had him in your life. But you made your choice and now it's too late. I really hope you can sleep knowing that because of your cowardice you lost your son."  
  
Rogue span on her heel and climbed back into the van. As she and Logan turned the corner Bobby's mother hadn't moved.  
  
* * *  
  
Everything moved up the stairs as Rogue and Logan climbed, there was no way that they could've fitted it all into the lift, "You do realise that this power may have been a lot of help to us when we had to move that damn bed."  
  
Rogue grinned, "Yeah, I guess so, but never mind. Your fingers were okay."  
  
Logan gave a definite 'hmph' noise, "Are you okay on your own the rest of the way? I wanted to go and check on Jean."  
  
"Yeah, I'll be fine. You go."  
  
Logan nodded, turned, and headed down to the hospital wing.  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby sat at the desk pouring over his books; he knew that Rogue was due back. He had expected to be apprehensive about seeing his whole life loaded up into boxes, but he didn't. He just wanted it over with.  
  
He heard her call his name and he went to open the door, he saw her bringing a hell of a lot of stuff with him, and his eyes bulged, "My God, I never knew I had so much."  
  
Rogue nodded, "Yeah you do, so you really shouldn't whine about me."  
  
"You had more than this."  
  
Rogue looked half tempted to argue, but seemed to change her mind, "Well, yeah but that's hardly the point."  
  
Bobby smiled, "We'll argue about that later."  
  
"Good plan, so . . . what do you want me to do with all this?"  
  
Bobby seemed to think for a second, "I think that you should bring it in and we should look through it, see if there's anything we want to keep, and if there is, we will, if not we'll get rid of the rest."  
  
Rogue shrugged, "Sure, should I leave the bed out here?"  
  
Bobby nodded, "Yeah that's probably a good idea."  
  
* * *  
  
"And to think, after my stuff we thought that we wouldn't be unpacking for a while."  
  
Bobby nodded, "I know."  
  
The two of them sat on the floor in the middle of their room. They were surrounded by . . . well . . . everything. There was clothing, books, old games, a television and video combo, a computer, Bobby's laptop, and a games console. There were also things like, old calendars, and cards. Bobby barely glanced at them before he threw them away. He kept the ones from his grandparents, who Rogue knew were dead.  
  
Bobby was only actually wearing his boxers, he had been trying on clothes, checking to see what still fit him and what he could either throw away or donate to the school. There was a supply of clothes kept for when new students arrived if they didn't have many of their own. Rogue had used these when she had first arrived, before Kitty and Ju had taken her shopping.  
  
Bobby had already created a huge pile of stuff to be added and a somewhat smaller pile to keep. "I think that we should see if the Professor wants the bed and if he doesn't we should just sell it."  
  
Rogue nodded, "Okay. What about the computer?"  
  
"Sell that. The school doesn't need anymore, we can use the ones they have here and if we want to work in our room we could use the lap top."  
  
Rogue laughed, "You should have left home ages ago, all this stuff'll be useful."  
  
Bobby chuckled too, "Yeah, you're right. There are only a few books I want to keep, the rest we an just donate to the school."  
  
"What about the rest of the furniture, if I'm right I think we have a wardrobe, a chest of drawers and a bookcase."  
  
"Sell 'em. I have plans and we need some cash."  
  
Rogue looked instantly suspicious, "Would these plans involve me naked?"  
  
Bobby leaned over the face her, "Would that be a problem?"  
  
She shrugged feigning nonchalance. "Only if you're naked too," she said leaning forward further.  
  
"I'll be naked." He leant even further so that their lips were almost touching.  
  
"Whatever it is, I can tell I'm gonna like your plan." She closed the small gap and brushed her lips against his. Bobby slipped a hand gently over her shoulder, upwards towards her neck, tangling his fingers gently in her hair to pull her closer.  
  
She moaned into his touch and touched a hand to his cheek. Bobby moaned gently and pulled her over his lap to straddle his waist. She slipped her legs round and pulled him against her.  
  
Bobby ran his hands down her back, he was quite happy to abandon the unpacking for a while. Before he could slip a hand under her shirt however, he felt her entire body tense under his fingers. He pulled back slightly and looked into her eyes. He felt panic rise inside of him when he saw the horror in hers.  
  
Rogue gripped his shoulders and tried to reach behind her, before her fingers could find the source of the pain, she felt blackness rising around her. She looked at Bobby, trying to make him keep her there, "Bobby . . ." She saw his eyes last and then everything went dark.  
  
Bobby caught her in his arms as she fell forward, her body the opposite of what it had been, and she went completely limp. "Rogue! Rogue!"  
  
He laid her on her back, her eyes were closed and she didn't respond to his calling, "Rogue! God . . . Rogue can you hear me? Rogue?" He checked and felt for a pulse, relaxing only slightly when he found one.  
  
He climbed to his feet. Not wanting to leave her, he opened the door and shouted out, "Help! Help!" Doors all down the corridor opened and heads peaked out, he looked at one of the older kids, "Go, get someone, the Professor . . . Logan, get Logan!"  
  
The boy sped down the corridor and Bobby turned tail back into his room. As he quickly moved back over to her, he saw it. There was something silver protruding from her shoulder. He moved over and pulled her into his arms, he looked at it. It was a dart; someone had shot her. He looked over at the window; it was slightly ajar. Bobby felt anger rise, someone had shot her, and he couldn't think of many people who would know where she would be, where his room was in the mansion. He pulled it out of her shoulder. That had been why she had tensed, she must have felt it before it . . . did whatever it did.  
  
He pressed his fingers to her neck again, the pulse was still there, it was still strong. He Has about to try to check out of the window when Logan came sprinting into the room. he took one look at Rogue and all of the colour drained out of his face, "Oh God. What happened to her?"  
  
Bobby held up the dart as Logan sank to his knees, "Someone shot her. The window's open, and we didn't open it."  
  
Logan looked at the window and then back at Rogue, "We have to get her to the hospital wing."  
  
Bobby nodded and lifted her weight easily. Logan led the way and Bobby followed him into the lift. The older man pressed the button and the lift began to move downwards.  
  
As the doors slid open again, they two men moved through them and headed for the hospital. Logan was talking to himself, "How could this happen?"  
  
Bobby decided to answer it, "How many people know which room is mine, hence where she'll be? How many have something to gain from her being out of action, and who is able to get up to the fourth floor to do this silently?"  
  
Logan's jaw tightened, "Magneto, with his little friends."  
  
* * *  
  
Ororo turned at the sound of the door opening. At first she was surprised to see Logan, he had not long since left, he had been here to see Jean. When she saw who was following, her heart gave a jolt.  
  
Her eyes flicked to Jean and then back to Rogue's still form, cradled in Bobby's arms. Two of her friends were here now. How had this happened?  
  
* * *  
  
They had been gone in seconds of course. Magneto had lifted Pyro and he had seen to Rogue. She wouldn't wake. They wouldn't be able to wake her. At least not before it was too late.  
  
Pyro sat in the front with Mystique while Magneto was in the back, "I got her. She's down."  
  
Magneto smiled, "Good. We needed her out of the running. She was too powerful."  
  
Pyro nodded, "I know."  
  
Mystique smiled at Pyro too, "Good, you did well. So . . . where to?"  
  
Magneto took a deep breath, "To start a war." 


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I own nothing. And I'm proud!  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Yay, I'm back! Bastard exams are over and I'm back. Have been so busy with stuff and now I'm kinda ready to tell it all to bugger off. There has to be life after education, there has to be...right? Right?!  
  
"Where am I?"  
  
Rogue was floating. Only she wasn't. To be floating you have to be capable of falling and it wasn't like that. She knew that for sure seeing as how she could float now. So, if she wasn't capable of falling... Rogue tried to look down at herself. But then she realised that she wasn't there, more than that. There was nothing to look down with.  
  
She was not in her body. There was no body. She was just...what? Consciousness? Part of her wanted to cry, but she couldn't. She wasn't able to anymore. She tried to speak but then realised that she couldn't do that either. After all, she didn't have a mouth.  
  
Rogue fought down the raising panic inside of her. Where was she? How had she got here? And more importantly, how did she get back? Because one thing was for sure, she wasn't staying here. She had to get back. She had finally sorted out her life. She was happy, and she refused to allow that to be taken away from her. She had to get back to Bobby.  
  
With that thought her heart contracted. If she was here, that meant she couldn't be there, God he must be so afraid.  
  
"Whoa, whoa calm down."  
  
If she's been in here body Rogue would have spun around to see who it was that had spoken to her. But she didn't need to. She didn't need to. Partly because they weren't behind her, they were just there and partly because they hadn't spoken. They had just...communicated. And they...they were Jean?  
  
* * *  
  
Most powerful mutant he had ever come across huh? That was what the Professor had said. Well that was a title he was sure Rogue was gonna love. She hated thinking of herself as capable of causing damage at the best of times. Bobby walked down the hallway. He steps slowed as he neared the hospital wing. He wanted to see her; he wanted to see her desperately. So desperately that it made his heart ache in his chest.  
  
But that was the problem. She just wasn't there. He had known it even before Ororo had confirmed it. Like Jean, whatever made them...them. It was gone. When he touched Rogue now...it just wasn't right.  
  
He pushed open the door and saw Logan sat between the two beds. He had his head down and he held Rogue's hand in his right one and Jean's in his left, as though just by hoping, he could bring them back to him.  
  
Logan hadn't said anything. When Ororo had explained, he had just nodded, he had already known. The only person who knew Rogue better than him was Bobby and he had known that Rogue was not there.  
  
Seeing Logan like this was one of the most painful things for Bobby. He knew that Rogue would be sad if she could see him and he hated that. But the older man...it was like he had just stopped. Everything, like he was prepared to stop existing if he lost both of them.  
  
Bobby put a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, any change."  
  
Logan looked up and took a few seconds to answer as though he was trying to ground himself to think about things clearly, "No, no change. Nothing."  
  
Logan didn't say anything else he just turned back around and stared at the beds.  
  
Bobby walked over to Ororo, "How's it going?"  
  
Ororo met his eyes, she looked tired, "There's no change, they're not moving."  
  
Bobby quirked an eyebrow, "I meant Logan."  
  
She smiled a little ironically, "He's not moving either. It's like..."  
  
"Like he doesn't care anymore," he finished for her.  
  
She nodded, "I'm still to figure out what sort of drug was used. I'll let you know if I get anything new."  
  
Bobby walked over to the bed and stoked a hand over Rogue's forehead. He kissed her gently and turned and walked back out of the room.  
  
* * *  
  
Pyro was breathing heavily. It was a lot harder to drag something this big than one would have imagined. Magneto walked in front of him. He couldn't help, he was still too weak and Mystique was off somewhere doing something else. Magneto glanced over his shoulder, "We're here."  
  
"Thank God this thing weighs a ton."  
  
Magneto looked down at the body still leaking black blood onto the floor, "It was a shame. May have been useful. But he's their leader and it's the only way."  
  
Pyro nodded, "It should turn them."  
  
Magneto sighed, "I hope so." He turned around again, raised his hand and knocked on the door. A small opening appeared as whoever was inside opened the hatch, "We know that you don't know us but we have to speak with you."  
  
"Who are you?" The voice was waspish, neither distinctly male nor female. Just a hoarse whisper. As though the voice hadn't been used in quite some time.  
  
Magneto stood aside and indicated down to the floor, "We were caught in a fight, we tried to save him. He fought bravely but there were too many."  
  
The eyes looked down at the floor and there was the sound of a gasp and a whispered 'no'. About five seconds later, Pyro heard the bolt inside the door being drawn back as it was opened. He smiled internally.  
  
* * *  
  
"Where am I?" the question wasn't spoken but she knew that she had asked just as much as if it had been.  
  
"Wherever I am, I guess you're there too."  
  
"Have you been here all this time Jean?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Rogue's mind was racing. If Jean was here, and she was here and Jean was also back at the mansion and not dead then that probably, logically, meant that she wasn't dead either. Just in some kind of coma or something. Although that thought wasn't altogether comforting, she was just pleased to realise that there was a chance she might wake up. "Do you know how we get out of here?"  
  
As soon as she thought it she new that it was a stupid question. If Jean knew of a way to escape there was no doubt that she would have used it by now. But then again...Jean had communicated with the Professor. Reached out and touched him. If she had been able to do it once then why couldn't she have done it again?  
  
Apparently though, she had asked all of this without even realising it. And Jean replied, "I have no idea. I wasn't even sure it would work but if you went and found me then I guess you must have heard me calling. I had been trying to reach the Professor for ages and when I felt...I thought at least that I felt some kind of connection...well I wasn't sure. And after a while...well I gave up hope again."  
  
Rogue gasped, as Jean spoke she felt...a rush. Emotions, images. If she had been in a body and standing up she knew that she would have stumbled and fell. She saw...no...she felt Jean smile in sympathy, "It can take a little while to get used to it. There are no secrets here. Your mind and thoughts are not contained here. They're just...out there."  
  
That made Rogue panic again, if her thoughts were just out there...where was there? Where was she? How was she going to get back? Back home? Back to Bobby. Her mind strayed to him, he must be so worried, they had been together when she could remember everything going black. They'd been...well, it must have frightened the life out of him to see her just...go like that, leave him...  
  
Jean interrupted her thoughts with a teasing, "Hey, some of that is not suitable for bystanders."  
  
Rogue mentally blushed, "Sorry. I'm just...everything's so mixed up in my head. I just...I have to get back."  
  
She could feel Jean's sympathy, "Any suggestions?"  
  
* * *  
  
The Professor sat in the hospital wing. "So, it may be possible to wake her?"  
  
"Yes, but we would have to reach her mentally."  
  
Bobby shook his head, "I'm really confused."  
  
Logan nodded, "For those of us who don't speak 'sad science geek' could you explain?"  
  
Ororo sighed, "One of the first things that struck me was the similarity between Rogue's catatonia and Jean's. Jean's as we knew was a reaction to what happened to her. Her body's way of dealing with the shock of what had happened to it. I did some of the more obscure tests on the dart that was found in Rogue's neck. It synthetically induces that kind of shock. It attacks the nervous system and makes the brain think that the body cannot cope with its surroundings. To combat this, the consciousness of the brain shuts down."  
  
Logan nodded, "But how does that help us? I mean, if we can't wake Jean why should we be able to wake Rogue?  
  
The Professor turned to face him, "Because what happened to Rogue was synthetic. Not real. When the brain knows and accepts that it should wake her up."  
  
Bobby unfolded his arms, "Well then can't you just try to communicate with her and tell her?"  
  
The Professor sighed, "It's not so simple. The shutting down process, to deal with the stress is not voluntary. It's an automatic response. Something the body does with or without the persons consent. There is a good chance that her consciousness is, or lack of a better term, not there. Her mind will have to be lured back to her body. That...I have no idea how that can be achieved. If I could get to her; talk to her. Maybe I could instruct her to try to find a way back. But if I can't..."  
  
Bobby rubbed his eyes, "So what you're saying is that you have no idea how to wake her up."  
  
"We know what has to be done. We just have to find a way to do it."  
  
* * *  
  
A large number of mutants stood assembled round the corpse. It had been placed on a table in the centre of a large warehouse.  
  
"Why would they do this? We've never hurt anyone. Even with our powers potential we have always been a group dedicated to helping. To not hurting anyone."  
  
Magneto placed a hand on the mutants shoulder. He was truly sorry for the young girl's grief. Sorry that it had been necessary to do what had been done. But unfortunately, well it was the truth of her statement that was the issue. Fire breathers. Completely devoted to never harming anyone? A total and complete waste. They had massive potential to be tapped. "We don't know. We came around the corner and they were kicking him. We don't...we don't think he was conscious for most of it. They just, they just hate all mutants. They kept asking him where the rest were but...well obviously at first he wouldn't answer and at the end he wasn't able to. We tried to get there in time to help him but there were just too many."  
  
She smiled a watery sad smile of thanks for their effort, "Were they all together?"  
  
Magneto nodded, "These types of groups have more than tripled in the past six months. Vigilantes, devoted to killing us off one by one. I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't the end for all of us."  
  
The girl's eyes flashed, "People like this will to be the reason for our destruction! We have done nothing wrong! We do not choose to be different!"  
  
Pyro came forward, "We know. You're preaching to the choir here. We just...we've been running for a long time now. We been trying to...do something anything." He carefully recited the words he'd learnt, "We lost some people. We aren't many now. We just have to keep trying."  
  
The girl looked at him, "I know who you are. You believe that hurting them is right. We've never believed that."  
  
Magneto shook his head, "We don't want to hurt anyone, but that doesn't mean that we are prepared to let them hunt us down one by one, like cattle. We believe that we can eventually get to the point where we can co-exist peacefully. We just don't think that we are there yet." He pointed down to the dead mutant "Do you?"  
  
The girl looked down at the mutant. Their leader, her father, "I guess maybe not. But we have to try."  
  
"I agree. But how? Do we roll over and let them kill us off? Or do we try to prove that we are here to stay and not prepared to let them slaughter us?"  
  
There was a mutter around the assembled group. Some looked doubtful. Some agreed. None looked opposed. Magneto smiled.  
  
* * *  
  
The Professor was alone in the hospital wing. Truly alone. The two women weren't there. He would have to tell the others in the morning. What Magneto was doing. What he was trying to cause. He didn't know if they could handle it right then. Only Bobby seemed to realise that there had to be a larger significance to what had been done to Rogue. The others were just feeling the pain. Bobby was feeling it too, more than any of them. He was determined to fix it. Anyway he could.  
  
But the Professor was concerned. He didn't know how far Bobby was prepared to go to fix it. It had taken him a long time to make the boy swear not to go after Magneto himself and force a cure out of him. And when Bobby found out what Magneto was up to...would he still be prepared to wait. The Professor wasn't sure.  
  
He sighed and for the hundredth time he cleared his mind. "Rogue? Jean?"  
  
* * *  
  
Bobby lay down. This was the eighth night that he had got into this bed without Rogue by his side. He rolled over and buried his face in her pillow. His throat tightened. The scent was fading. He knew everything small thing about her and he knew it was fading. It had been too long since she had used it. Maybe another two days before it would be gone.  
  
He had sprayed it with her perfume about three days ago to make it last longer and it helped a little. But when all was said and done it just wasn't the same. Sure it smelled like her perfume, but not her.  
  
He wrapped his arms around it and hugged it tight to his chest. He didn't try to fight the tears. The first two nights he had tried, tried to be strong for her, refused to give up. Now he just wasn't sure if he had any fight left inside of him.  
  
But he did know one thing. Even if when he was alone he crumbled, he was not giving up. She was coming back to him. He was going to bring her back. He knew what he had promised the Professor, but he didn't care. He breathed in the scent of the pillow again. Two days. Two days and it would be gone. Well then, that's how long he would give to the Professor. Two days to come up with a plan. If he couldn't...then Bobby was taking matters into his own hands. 


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I own nothing...but I can dream.  
  
Rating: Over all R. This chapter...for all I guess.  
  
Not as long this time. I haven't been able to get hold of my beta reader. I am beta less ; (. So be flexible with this chapter. I'll try my best with spelling and everything. Thanks for all my reviewers. Special shout out to Zico whose been reading for like...ages.  
  
The professor sighed. They just...were not hearing him. He looked around the empty room, he didn't know if there was another alternative but he had been hoping that this wasn't going to be necessary.  
  
He looked down at Rogue, she had had her disc removed to make it possible for tests to be done on her. Now he knew that he would have to try this. He took a deep breath. Rogue had always said that the people she came into skin on skin contact with...she could feel them, hear them, inside her head. Well, that in itself as hopeful, but coupled with his telepathy it might be enough to guide her back. He lifted the blanket off her arm and took her hand in his.  
  
It was strange. Rogue could feel something. Something strange. She had been feeling something similar since she had been here but this was different. She had constantly felt as though there was a third person here. Someone trying to make contact but unable to completely communicate with her. It was someone or something she knew though. Very well. At first she had thought it was Bobby, but there was no way that he could be here. But this...this was different. Invasive.  
  
Rogue felt as though something hard and cold had banged hard into her. Except that it was a mental invasion. Something was inside of her. She could hear Jean calling to her, in so much as you could call in this place.  
  
Jean was afraid, worried and panicky about what was happening to Rogue. There was something different, she felt as though something alien was there...but it was part of Rogue as well so it wasn't totally alien. The only thing that she could think was that something was trying to hurt her. Just as they had hurt her by putting her here, "Rogue! Rogue! Oh God! Rogue!"  
  
Rogue could barely hear Jean calling out to her, she could feel it. It was inside every part of her, she had felt this before. But...she suddenly realised what was going on. Someone was touching her, touching her body, and they were getting through to her. Connecting to her. She quickly stopped fighting it. The feeling of invasion intensified. It covered her, completely. She wasn't sure where she ended and this person began. They were a part of her.  
  
As suddenly as she had realised what was going on she realised who it was. She had felt this connection before. She had been connected to this person before. She focused and her mind called out, "Professor! Professor! I'm here! Please Professor! I'm here, Jean's here! We're not dead! Help me!"  
  
And then she heard it. She didn't think she had ever noticed anything so small before. It was like trying to focus on a drop of water when looking at an ocean. But nevertheless it was there, "Rogue. I hear you. I hear you."  
  
Then just as quickly as it had begun it ended. Rogue cried out in her mind again, "No! No! Professor come back! Please come back!" But she knew that he couldn't. She had felt the call weakening. Touching her had been draining him. Of course it had. It always did. She prayed that he was okay. But at the same time the despair that filled her was overwhelming. She began to cry. Inside.  
  
As though she was in her body and Jean was right next to her. She felt the older woman wrap around her. Hold her and whisper, "It's okay Rogue, I promise it'll be okay."  
  
The Professor regained consciousness on the floor. He knew that he had only been there for a few moments.  
  
He forced himself onto his hands and dragged himself towards his chair. Pulling himself up into it nearly exhausted him to the point of unconsciousness again. But when he was sat there he took a moment to breath. He had reached her, he knew it. She had answered. And she had said that wherever she was...Jean was there too. He looked at the beds. They were both alive.  
  
Only a minute. He would only give himself a moment and then he would call the others. He gave himself the moment and sat there.  
  
Bobby turned over and picked up the phone ringing next to the bed. "Hello?"  
  
"Bobby. It's Logan. Come to the hospital wing. We need you here...it's Rogue she's..."  
  
Before the older man could say anything else Bobby felt himself strangled by panic. He dropped the phone, grabbed a T-shirt and ran. He arrived at the double doors still only in his shorts with the shirt in his hand, Logan was by the door with his hands up as though to pacify him, "Calm down. I'm sorry, I didn't phrase that well. She's fine. It's good news."  
  
Bobby felt his knees shake. He rubbed his face with one hand and took a breath. She was okay. She was okay. It was ...good news? He pulled the shirt over his head. "What do you mean? Good news?"  
  
Logan pushed open the doors, "The Professor managed to reach her. But he couldn't stay connected to her for long."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because apparently telepathy isn't enough. He had to touch her and of course he couldn't hold for long. But he says he definitely reached her."  
  
Bobby wasn't sure whether he wanted to laugh or cry. It was definitely good that the Professor had proved what Bobby had believed all along, that she wasn't dead inside. But on the other hand, she obviously was trapped somewhere.  
  
His eyes focussed on the Professor, "Is she okay?"  
  
The Professor didn't move, "I can't be sure, but I think so. She didn't sound as though she was in pain. Just frantically glad to hear from me."  
  
Bobby smirked, "I can imagine."  
  
"She also said, that wherever she is, she's with Jean."  
  
Bobby felt himself breath. Felt his heart beat. She wasn't alone. She wasn't stuck in some terrible place all alone. He allowed himself his first genuine smile in days. "So now what?"  
  
The professor grit his teeth. "I try again to reach her. Try to lead her to back."  
  
Bobby nodded, "Sounds good, so what are we waiting for?"  
  
"I think your help may be required."  
  
Bobby frowned, "What can I do?"  
  
"When I managed to reach Rogue it was as though I was speaking through layers and layers of ...something. I don't know exactly what it was. But the point is, I want to try and get you to reach her. You will use me as a kind of connector, but you need to be the one to call out to her."  
  
Bobby sank down into a chair. "I don't understand. I'm not telepathic, how can I communicate with her?"  
  
The professor stared hard at him, "You can. I will connect to you both and you will speak to her through me. Bobby, if there is one person in this world that can help her, can reach her, no matter where she is, if there is one person's voice she will hear, it is yours."  
  
Bobby nodded, "You don't have to ask do you?"  
  
He was impatient to try. He felt like the professor had been over this a million times. He knew what he had to do, and he knew it was important and that he had to be clear, but he just wanted to get to her, to help her.  
  
Rogue had been talking to Jean more about things. She was pretty sure that the woman was up to date on every single thing that had been happening at the school since she had not been there. Maybe she'd left out a few hours in the fourth week. She's been having that feeling again. As though there was someone else there but she had been trying to ignore it. Jean couldn't feel it she said so. Rogue thought that maybe she was imagining it. Now that she had spoken to the Professor, she knew that it wasn't him. Whatever it was, it was someone else here. She supposed it could be anyone. There must be other people in the world who were in comas. But then, that didn't explain why she could feel them and Jean couldn't.  
  
She pushed it out of her mind. She was trying to listen, such as listening was in this place, for the Professor again. She knew that he would try to reach her again. He would not leave her and Jean here.  
  
Okay so it's pretty short, but I promise the next one will be longer. Oh and I'm taking bets on who the other person is who's there ; ) 


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I am poor and own nothing. Oh, I have also stolen the lyrics from Bryan Adams "I Will Always Return" cause it's just perfect.  
  
Rating: We're still in the tame bit...sorry.  
  
Hey and hi. Okay, new chapter. I couldn't keep them apart. I love them too much.  
  
She didn't try to fight it this time. She felt it again. As though she was being hit with something hard and cold and invasive. She just waited for a moment. It filled her, consumed her, until she, as a single being was swallowed. But it was different. There was something new here. It wasn't the Professor; at least, not only the professor. She felt as though her heart was being gripped, "Bobby?"  
  
"Rogue!"  
  
He sounded almost delirious. He was still far away, but he was way closer than the professor had been "Yes, I'm here."  
  
She felt a huge rush of emotion from him, "Oh God, you're here...I... Wait, we don't have time. I need to tell you. You need to come to me. Now wherever you can feel me coming from. You need to come to me."  
  
She didn't really need to be told that. Every instinct in her was telling her to go to him. To get to wherever he was and he would make her safe again. She started moving. She was astounded at how simple it was. She didn't really need to think about it too much. She just wanted to move and she did, and quickly.  
  
"Rogue? Are you still there?"  
  
"Yes, I'm here. Just keep talking I need to hear you."  
  
"Just keeping moving. Come towards me. Come on..."  
  
He was closer, so much closer than he had been and now. She could feel them both. The Professor and Bobby both. They wanted her with them. She had to get to them. She forced herself forwards. It was almost as though she could see them again. Just like she knew that she was herself, she knew that this was them. They were different than her though, almost touchable. She was closer, "Bobby?"  
  
"Just come to us Rogue. We're here."  
  
And then she realised, she wasn't just moving herself forwards anymore. She was being pulled. No, pushed. No, pulled. No...she didn't know what. It was like...like she was being thrown out. Like whatever made the rules here decided it didn't want her anymore. She could feel how close she was to the Professor and Bobby but she couldn't slow herself down. In about fifteen seconds they were going to collide. She tried to force herself to slow, she couldn't. She was still moving and if anything she was picking up speed.  
  
She fought with all her might but it didn't help. And her last thought before she hit them was that she could feel that thing again, that other thing, the other one. It was here. It had come back with her.  
  
Bobby and the Professor were thrown about twenty feet backwards. Both of them lost consciousness and Logan began to move over to help them. Ororo stared and Scott looked immediately over to Jean to see if she was okay.  
  
Before anyone could do anything, Rogue spoke, "Bobby..."  
  
Logan moved over to the bed and looked down at the girl, "Rogue?"  
  
Her eyes focussed on his face after a moment, "Logan?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, it's me. Are you okay?"  
  
She shifted her shoulders on the bed, "Yes, yes I think so."  
  
Logan felt the first tear slid down his cheek but he couldn't fight it. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her to him. "I was so worried. I thought you were gonna die."  
  
She hugged him back for a second, "Where are the Professor and Bobby? They brought me back."  
  
Logan realised where he was and what he had seen just before he had realised that Rogue was okay. He turned and saw Scott helping a now conscious Professor Xavier back into his chair. Bobby was still out and Ororo was trying to get him to a bed. "He'll be fine Rogue. Don't worry. If I can just lift him."  
  
Logan quickly ran to help her with Bobby's dead weight.  
  
Rogue swung her legs off the bed and instinctively slipped a hand to her back to see if she was safe to touch anyone. She immediately found that of course she wasn't. She really should have known that. The Professor would have to have been touching her to make contact. How would he have done that if she had been wearing her disc? "Ororo?"  
  
The older woman lifted her head from leaning over Bobby, "Yeah?  
  
"Where..?"  
  
She of course realised what she was being asked, "On the side there."  
  
Rogue looked and saw; she reached for it.  
  
Jean was alone again, she knew that Rogue had somehow found a way to get back, or else the others had found a way to bring her back. She knew that the latter was more likely. She doubted that Rogue would have left without her if she could have done anything for her. Jean felt despair clench around her and she fought to squash it. If they were able to save her then there was a chance that they would be able to save her in time as well.  
  
They wouldn't leave her here. She knew that. Scott wouldn't leave her here and Logan...she knew that Logan would rather die than leave her here voluntarily.  
  
Rogue rushed over to Bobby and touched a hand to his face. It felt very strange to have a body again. She definitely knew that she preferred it though. She felt his skin on hers and she knew that she could never live without this; she didn't think that she could live without him.  
  
Bobby opened his eyes and stared into her worried face, "I'm...I'm not dreaming right?"  
  
She smiled and kissed his gently, when she pulled back she slipped one of her hands into his, "No."  
  
He sat bolt upright and threw his arms around her and held her tightly. She put her arms around him and held him to. She could feel him shaking, as though afraid that if he let go she might disappear and leave him again. She kissed the side of his neck, trying desperately to reassure him that she really was there and she wasn't going to go anywhere, "It's okay, I'm here. I'm right here I swear."  
  
He wanted to hold her forever, but the other sounds in the room slowly broke into his mind and he realised that they were in fact in a room where something a little dramatic had just happened. He began to notice that the other three adults in the room were still crowded round the Professor's chair. He slowly released Rogue and swung his legs off the side of the bed. "Is the Professor okay?"  
  
Rogue turned her attention away from Bobby for the first time since she had awakened and noticed the Professor, he was awake and shaking his head as though to clear it. "Are you alright Professor?"  
  
His eyes settles on Rogue and a smile of happiness broke out on his face, "Rogue. You're back. Oh thank God."  
  
She moved to in front of the chair and smiled too, "Thank you for coming to get me."  
  
He placed a hand on one of hers, "My pleasure."  
  
Scott spoke for the first time since Rogue had woken up, "Rogue...Jean, is she...?"  
  
Rogue turned in surprise back to the other bed. A stab of guilt hit her hard. She had just followed Bobby without thinking. Literally, without thinking. She had just gone and left her. Oh god, she had left her all alone in that place.  
  
The professor instantly cut into her thoughts, "Rogue, do not feel guilty. You followed us as you were instructed to do. The damage to Jean is very different to the damage done to you. You could not have brought her back with you in the same way. It would have been impossible and we would not have even been able to save you if you had tried. Do not feel guilty."  
  
"I just..." she didn't know what to say. She knew that what the Professor was saying made sense, but it was so hard to not feel responsible for not saving Jean.  
  
"If you need to convinced further, try to realise that you have a unique knowledge of what happened to you and it may be very helpful in saving Jean."  
  
Rogue nodded.  
  
Rogue lay down on her bed. She was so tired. Bobby at next to her and stroked her hair, she closed her eyes enjoying the feel of being home. She opened her eyes when she felt him move off the bed. He walked over to the CD player, put a CD in and pressed play.  
  
He walked back over to the bed and crawled into bed behind her holding her tight to him, "I love you."  
  
She sighed and smiled, "I love you too." She closed her eyes.  
  
I hear the wind call your name It calls me back home again It sparks up the fire - a flame that still burns Oh it's to you I'll always return  
  
Rogue smiled, she was amazed at how right the words were for her. Definitely a good choice.  
  
I still feel your breath on my skin I hear your voice deep within The sound of my lover - a feeling so strong It's to you - I'll always belong  
  
Bobby gently wove his fingers with hers and stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. She was here, with him. They were together and that was enough.  
  
Now I know it's true My every road leads to you And in the hour of darkness darlin' Your light gets me through  
  
Wanna swim in your river - be warmed by your sun Bathe in your waters - cos you are the one I can't stand the distance - I can't dream alone I can't wait to see you - Yes I'm on my way home  
  
Rogue freed her hand from his and turned into his arms.  
  
Oh I hear the wind call your name The sound that leads me home again It sparks up the fire - a flame that still burns Oh, it's to you - I will always return  
  
She buried her head in his chest. She was never going to leave him again if she had any choice in the matter. She was going to stay right here with him.  
  
Wanna swim in your river - be warmed by your sun Bathe in your waters - cos you are the one I can't stand the distance - I can't dream alone I can't wait to see you - Yes I'm on my way home 


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I own nothing and if I did I wouldn't admit it.  
  
Rating: PG-13-ish  
  
Thank you so much to all my reviewers who I love more than life itself although probably not more than Shawn Ashmore, who along with a few other men is the closest thing to God, you know...apart from God.  
  
As a quick point, one of my reviewers suggested that the 'other one' who was with Rogue and Jean might be the Phoenix. I must confess here that I do not know very much about the whole 'Phoenix' thing, only what I've learnt off the internet. If anyone wants to give me any clues as to the best way to write that I'm open to suggestions. Other wise I'm going to ignore it entirely and make up my own stuff.  
  
The 'other one' is not the phoenix. Not necessarily bad you know.  
  
She smiled in mild amusement as he gently toyed with her fingers. They were in one of the classrooms. They had been asked to stay behind by Ororo and were soon joined by the Professor, Scott and Logan.  
  
For the last few days, Bobby had practically never stopped touching her. She had never even been out of his sight except trips to the bathroom, and even then he had followed her into the shower once. She blushed a little at the memory. Then tried to force herself to concentrate. What the Professor was saying was very important she told herself. Stop thinking about the shower and concentrate.  
  
Logan was pacing, never a good sign, "How many? Do we know?"  
  
The professor frowned, "Well, my sources tell me that he has already secured the support of several large groups. He has deliberately targeted them as the most time effective way of gaining backing. One of the things that confuses my though is that he has become allied with several groups who are well known for their peaceful co-existence with people. I can only assume that he has either coerced or tricked them into becoming his supporters."  
  
"When you say groups, do you mean like other schools?" Bobby asked  
  
"No. These groups are made up of mutants who all have similar mutations. They have banded together for protection and support. Magneto has approached a group of mutants who are capable of breathing fire, another group who are telekinetic, others who are telepathic. However those are the groups are committed to co-existing peacefully. The more dangerous groups...well, we have a small number of tele-porters, not unlike Kurt. We have a group of feral wolf-like mutants. And then there are also several individuals who I have been having more trouble running to ground."  
  
Rogue gave an involuntary shudder, "I really don't like the sound of this. What has Magneto got on his side that's so powerful it can convince normally peaceful mutants to become violent?"  
  
The Professor sighed and rubbed the skin between his eyes. Rogue realised for the first time in memory, that the Professor was not a young man. He had been fighting against prejudice all of his life. She realise dhow very tired he must be of the fight. "I wish that I knew, all I do know is that somehow he does. I have one theory however. If we assume that he is not threatening them into submission, and we must..."  
  
"Why must we?" interrupted Logan, "Magneto is perfectly capable of threatening as many people as necessary..."  
  
"I know that Logan. But if calculations are correct, we are assuming he must have over one hundred mutants under his control. No matter how strong he is, he is not a god. I doubt he could hold sway over that many. At least not with threats."  
  
Logan thought for a moment, "Yeah I guess. I just don't want to put anything past him."  
  
"I understand. But in fact I thought it may be something worse. If you think about it, what is most likely to make a normal rational person act out of character?"  
  
He did not look at Bobby, but Bobby knew that he was thinking of his reaction when Pyro had injured Rogue, "He could threaten someone close to them."  
  
The Professor met his eyes, "Exactly. Or make it look as though those who were not mutants were doing so."  
  
Rogue gripped Bobby's hand reassuringly, "So what you're saying Professor is that Magneto could be trying to convince mutants that they re under attack from others."  
  
"Exactly. Convincing them that there is no other way to keep themselves safe than to fight."  
  
The room fell silent as they all absorbed the information. Knowing without even having to discuss it that this meant real trouble. The kind of trouble they had only just managed to avert the day they had gone to speak to the President. The kind of war that Magneto had always wanted. It looked as though he had finally found a way to get it.  
  
If he couldn't get the human population to start the war on them, he would simply start the attack himself. And they all knew the truth of the situation. Whether he won or lost, the death toll would be catastrophic, on both sides.  
  
Bobby sighed, "Well, just so long as there's nothing to worry about."  
  
Everyone in the room laughed a little.  
  
Magneto stood with his arms outstretched as the people, the mutants, those like him, cheered loudly. And cheer they did.  
  
He was being careful. Very careful. There was nothing that he was saying that could be directly attributed to threatening humans. That would come later. When he was sure that they would tolerate it. He was being careful. His eyes sought out Pyro's in the crowd. He was stood next to the girl. The one whose father they had killed together.  
  
A slight frown marred his forehead. It would not be good for Pyro to get too involved with her. Her's was one of the more...unpredictable groups. He wasn't exactly sure where they stood. They were definitely in favour of protecting themselves, but whether they would go any further when the time came to push them...he wasn't sure. And that time was going to be soon. They could not delay much longer. Soon.  
  
"Okay, you're brooding."  
  
Bobby looked up and met her eyes. "Sorry. I'm just worried."  
  
Rogue moved over to him. He was lying on his back staring up at the ceiling. She lay next to him, abandoning her physics work and threaded her fingers through his. "I know. Me too." She sighed, "Do you think the Professor has a plan? One that he's not sharing yet?"  
  
Bobby shrugged, "It's possible. But I don't think even he knows how to proceed on this one. I mean, I'm sure he's trying to come up with something but..." Bobby ran his free hand through his hair in frustration, "Oh I don't know. I've been lying here trying to think up something and I just...I'm drawing a blank."  
  
Rogue turned over onto her side, "You're not giving up on me are you?"  
  
He smiled at her, "No. Just a little down. I know that what Magneto and Pyro are doing is wrong. But at the same time I can see how to others, who've been hurt, it wouldn't seem that way."  
  
"Yeah, I know."  
  
He looked at her in surprise, "I was preparing to fight my corner there. Didn't picture you agreeing."  
  
She lay her hand on his chest, "Good to know I can still surprise you. It's like you said, I know it's wrong. But to mutants who've been hurt...well, I know how I reacted when I thought that you'd been hurt. It didn't make it right, but it made it understandable."  
  
Bobby touched his other hand to her cheek, "You know, sometimes without even trying..."  
  
She frowned slightly, "What?"  
  
"You remind me why I love you."  
  
She giggled, "What can I say? I'm just good at it."  
  
Pyro stood on the walkway. They were in a warehouse. A huge warehouse. A metal walkway ran around the interior about twenty feet up from the floor. It also crossed the warehouse, meeting in the middle at right angles, supported from the ceiling by thick chains.  
  
Pyro liked it up here. It was quiet. He could see all the others beneath him, but he liked the feeling of detachment he got from being up here, away from it all. "Penny for your thoughts?"  
  
Pyro almost fell backwards at the sound of her voice, "God, Athena you scared me."  
  
She smiled, "Sorry, you seemed so...asleep."  
  
He smiled back at her. "Probably am. Asleep to the world anyway. Just thinking." He looked at her, he couldn't help but notice how tired she looked, "Are you okay?"  
  
She shrugged, "All things considered."  
  
"You don't wanna talk about it?"  
  
"It's not that. I just...I feel like I should be strong. I should try to be like..." her voice dropped to a whisper, "I should try to be as good as he was."  
  
Pyro felt the guilt clench somewhere between his stomach and his throat. He was the reason she had to be strong. He knew Magneto was right. There would have been no other way to get them to join. They were peaceful. He understood their motivations. He wished that they could all be peaceful, but at the end of the day, he wasn't prepared to die for it.  
  
He looked into Athena's face. She was beautiful. A little younger than him, not much but a little. Magneto had told him not to risk getting involved with any of the other mutants and he knew that it was probably a bad idea. He couldn't seem to help it though. Something about this girl touched him. She was...she was committed to doing the right thing, as were her group. He could tell, and Magneto had noticed, that they were one of the more...cautious groups.  
  
Pyro knew that Magneto was worried he didn't want to risk losing them, they were valuable. "Hey, did I lose you there for a minute?"  
  
The sound of her voice brought him back to reality, "Sorry. I was just thinking about what you said. I know what you mean. With Magneto...well, I feel like I have a lot to live up to."  
  
She smiled and put her hand on his arm, "No matter how much you have to live up to, I think you can do it."  
  
He smiled back at her. It had been a long time since someone had told him that they had faith in him without wanting anything in return. Even the X- men had wanted something. They'd wanted him to behave like a good little boy. For what? To protect humans? Humans weren't going to protect him and he knew it. What made them worth so much more? No. He was better off here.  
  
"Thanks. It's nice to...well..."  
  
"To have a friend?"  
  
He nodded. He'd missed it, "Yeah."  
  
She moved closer to him and Pyro knew that he should back away. This was a bad idea. It was going against exactly what Magneto had said. He shouldn't get involved.  
  
But he couldn't make himself move. Even when he felt her hand touch his chest. She was going to kiss him. He knew it. And he should stop her. But he wasn't going to. But apparently something showed in his eyes. She paused, "Do you want me to stop?"  
  
Yes, yes, yes, you should stop. This is a very bad idea. But for some reason his body was not obeying his brain. His arms went around her back, and pulled her to him. As his lips touched hers, all thoughts of it being wrong went out of his head. Her hands went to his shoulders, and he sighed. This felt good. And right.  
  
Magneto sighed. He had warned Pyro. He knew that this was going to be difficult and now it seemed that it was going to get worse. He either had to assure himself of the groups support or give them the push. It was looking more and more like the push was going to be needed.  
  
And he was sorry. He wanted it to be possible for Pyro to be happy. But that was the problem. It couldn't be the priority here. 


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just make them do what I want ; )

Rating: I don't think we've gotten any worse than PG-13

Distribution: Ask, (nicely), and ye shall receive.

Okay, unless some unforeseen time appears, this may be the last update for about two weeks. Time to sit exams. Aren't I lucky? Fortunately, this is the last lot until I go to university thank God.

Special shout outs to RedIceBlueFire and Wapps921. Thanks for the reviews people, you're excellent.

Anyway, not too many more chapters to go. I think.

I'm altering this chapter by trying another method of inserting page breaks. The system wont let me just insert three asterisks anymore. Humpf, go figure. I'm going to try three X's and hope for the best.

XXX

Logan held her hand. He kept imagining that it was cold. Like she was dying. He knew that she wasn't. Rogue had said that she was okay. Wherever she was. She was okay. She wasn't in pain.

The pretence gave way. She was alone. She was all by herself with no way of knowing if she'd ever be able to leave. Logan sat down on the chair next to the bed. When patients were in a coma, the family and friends were told to talk to them because there was a very good chance they could be heard. But Logan knew from what Rogue had said that Jean could not hear them. She was lost to them. To him. He pressed her hand to his lips. "I wish you could hear me. And I know that you can't hear me. But I'm just gonna talk to you for a while. Okay?

XXX

Rogue headed back to her room. She ignored the tears on her cheeks. Logan was so lost. His desperation to help Jean almost hurt her physically. She knew how'd she feel if she was in that position and she wished she could fix it for Logan.

It wasn't just that though. She knew that Logan was lost, but for some reason she couldn't put her finger on, she felt desperately lost too. They were in a terrible position, with no idea how to get out of it. She was terrified that one or more of them might not make it through and even more afraid that it could be Bobby.

She pushed open the door and just lay down on the bed. This wasn't like her, to feel so panicked. But it just all seemed so...hopeless.

XXX

Pyro turned over as he awoke. For the first time in as long as he could remember, he had slept really well. He ran a and through his hair as he struggled to remember why he had slept well. He turned and saw Athena lying next to him. Oh yeah. He smiled and stroked a hand down her arm. She sighed in her sleep. He looked at his watch. He had to meet Magneto and Mystique soon.

He didn't want to wake her, but he didn't want her to find him just gone with no explanation after last night. He kissed her shoulder gently and felt her stir. She turned over and looked into his face, "Hey."

He smiled down at her, "Hey, I'm sorry to wake you. I have to go and I didn't just want to leave you."

She nodded a little sleepily, "Kay."

"Just stay and sleep longer, and I'll see you later."

"Hmm."

He smiled. They'd only spent one night together and she'd already stopped listening to him.

XXX

"Hey, you ok?"

Rogue tried to smiled at him, "Yeah, I'm sorry about last night. I just...I'm so scared."

"Yeah I know, and I don't..." He struggled to find the words. "I don't mind you being sad and upset, I can deal with that. It's just that...It's not like you. Maybe you're...are you..?"

Rogue frowned in confusion, "Am I what?"

"Are you...about to have anything that might make you more emotional than usual?"

She thought, "I think I might be actually. It could have something to do with it I guess."

Bobby ran a hand up her arm, "How did you sleep?"

"Not too good. I'm just...I'm just so scared and it all seems to be getting on top of me."

Bobby saw, to his horror, that the tears were starting again, "Oh Rogue, it'll be okay. I promise."

She slipped into his arms, "I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me. This is not like me."

Bobby felt a shiver go down his back, she was right. It was nothing like her. He felt the shiver again. Then again. Then he realised, he was actually feeling a shiver. Cold air was running down his back. Down his left shoulder. Next to Rogue's face. He gently eased himself away from her. She looked up at him and he looked at her mouth as she breathed out, "Rogue? Umm...you're breathing ice."

Her eyes widened in horror as her hand flew to her mouth to feel the air. Then she shoved herself backwards off the bed and away from him. She was draining him. Oh God! How? How could that be? She felt round her back and found that everything was attached as it should be.

How was she draining him then. She looked up at Bobby, "Are you okay? I'm sorry, I don't know what's happened...I don't understand." The tears that seemed to be constantly near the surface these days started, "Oh God, I'm sorry...I don't..."

Bobby slid off the bed and tried to take her in his arms but she yelled and held out her hands in front of her. She pushed herself backwards away from him. "Don't Bobby, don't touch me."

"Rogue, I didn't feel anything, it's okay."

Her eyes flashed, "Then we were lucky. Like the first time you kissed me. That doesn't mean we can risk it."

Her head dropped and she looked at Bobby's hands. She wanted to take them in hers. But she couldn't do that. She might hurt him. "Bobby, we need to go and see the Professor."

XXX

"Are you sure Rogue?"

Bobby smiled a little, "She's sure. I felt and saw it. And if anyone can recognise it, I can."

"Of course. Well, I guess we should call Ororo."

The Professor picked up the phone. Before he even started to dial though he saw Bobby take Rogue's hand. Apparently without even thinking. He was about to stop him, but nothing happened. She just twined her fingers with his.

After a full ten seconds, he saw a scowl cross Rogue's face, she looked down at their linked hands in horror and yanked hers away. Bobby seemed to become aware of what had just happened. "Rogue...I'm okay."

She looked him over, apparently convinced that he was telling the truth. "But, how..." her eyes widened, "Oh god...it...it can't..."

"What? Rogue, what is it?"

Rogue had gone white, Bobby took her hand again, "Rogue, what's wrong?"

Rogue stood up, "I'll...I'll explain...just...I just need to do something...."

She turned and left the room, Bobby stood and was about to go after her, but the Professor stopped him, "No. I think you should let her go."

"But Professor..."

"No really. I think she...well I don't know what she was thinking, but I could tell that she wanted to go by herself."

Bobby fought the instinctive urge to follow and sat down.

XXX

About two hours later the front gate opened to let her in. Rogue was in a daze. She could hardly see where she was going. All she knew was that she was heading in the general direction of the mansion. Back to Bobby. She needed him. She needed to talk to him. He would make all this make a little more sense than it did at the moment.

XXX

Magneto knew what had happened between Pyro and Athena. He was not happy about it. He had told the boy that he was not to get involved with any of the other mutants. It was going to make it a lot harder.

Her group, they were very unpredictable. The worst of the lot. They were too much of a liability for them to continue as they were. Magneto knew what he had to do. Pyro wasn't going to like it, but he just hoped that the boy would understand. He had grown very fond of Pyro.

XXX

Bobby was pacing round their room. She had been gone for over two hours and he was constantly fighting the urge to go and look for her.

He wanted to help but he didn't know what to do. Should he look for her? He hated the thought of her being alone. Or did she need to be alone for now? He ran his hands through his hair.

He span round when he heard the door open. And there she was. He moved over to her and pulled her into his arms. "I was worried about you. Are you okay?"

She slid her arms around him. Her eyes drifted shut. She thought that maybe she had taken this for granted. Just the feeling of him touching her. When, this morning, she had thought that it might be going to go away, she was terrified. She couldn't give this up now. He interrupted her thoughts, "Rogue? Talk to me. What's going on?"

She met his eyes and kissed him gently, "I think that we should talk about something."

He looked so worried, "Of course. Whatever you want."

She sat down on the bed and he sat down next to her, "I had to go out today, because I thought that something might be happening and I needed to see if it really was.

Bobby nodded. "Ok. And, this, whatever it is. Is it happening?" She nodded, biting her lip, "Okay, well, is it a good thing or a bad thing?"

She frowned slightly, "Well, I think it's a good thing. At least, I think, I think it's a good thing."

He smiled little despite himself, "Okay, how about you let me know."

She met his eyes, "I...I'm going to have a baby."

Bobby's mouth literally dropped open, "You're...you're having a baby? Having...my baby? My baby?"

Rogue giggled, "Well, who else's baby could I be having?"

Bobby blanched, "Oh god I didn't mean that I just..."

She took his hands in hers, "I know, I'm only teasing," her face suddenly got more serious, "How do you feel about this?"

His face split into a huge grin. Bobby wrapped his arms around Rogues waist and pulled her across his lap. He slid his hands into hers hair and pulled her face to his.

Rogue slid her hands up Bobby's chest, rubbing her tongue against his gently. She moaned in pleasure before pulling away gasping, "Do I take it you're glad too?"

He smiled, "You could put it like that."

His fingers went to the buttons on her shirt, "I love you."

She smirked, "Prove it."

XXX

They sat together on the balcony, looking down at the others swarming below, "I love it up here."

She leant against Pyro's shoulder, "I do too. It's the only place in the building where I can hear myself think."

She giggled, "That's not why I like it."

He turned to her a little, "Why do you like it here then?"

She smiled and kissed him gently, "Because you're here."

He was surprised by that, but he realised something. He was having a better time because she was here, "I'm glad you're here with me."

She smiled again, "I am too."

Athena rested her head on his shoulder.

After a few minutes he realised that she was dosing. It had been a long day. He smiled as she sighed in her sleep.

However, he was worried too. He knew that Magneto would not approve of this if he knew. Pyro knew that there was something going on with Magneto and Mystique, but he was equally aware that this was not a valid argument. Their situation was very different from his. They were united by their hatred of humans. Athena didn't feel that way. And if he was honest with himself he had known all along, that that was the case.

He didn't see how her group could remain in allegiance with them. Their anger over the death of their leader currently sufficed, and even more so, their willingness to support Athena. They cared about her. She had been born within the confines of their group and some of the older members had had a hand in raising her.

As long as Athena sided with them, the group should be possible to control. He hoped. Even then he wasn't sure. He turned and kissed her head.

He hoped so.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I don't own anything…I don't even really know anything.

Rating: PG-13

Okay. Hey, look at me updating and everything. Go me. Things are gonna start getting interesting again. Yay! Am very sorry for the lack of updates, and this one hasn't been beta'd so brace yourselves. I've been moving house and starting university…has been a little busy. Still…new chapter enjoy!

Thank you to all the wonderful people who reviewed…sun shone…birds sung…all good.

XXX

Professor Xavier nodded. "That would explain the use of Bobby's power. The baby you are carrying will have it, and since the child is currently inside of you. It follows that you currently have access to it."

Rogue nodded absently. She had already considered this and come to the same conclusion. It was something else the intrigued her, "Professor, when I was…" she paused, "When I was wherever I was, I could sense someone else…could it possibly have been her?"

Bobby raised his eyebrows. She? Was his child a she? Was he going to have a daughter? He grinned at the thought although he wasn't conscious of it until the Professor gave him an odd look, "Sorry, it's just…" he looked at Rogue, "Do you…I mean, do you think it's a girl?"

Rogue frowned, "I…I don't know why I said she. But…yes. I do think she is a girl." Her face broke into a smile, "I could be wrong, but I think we're having a daughter."

Professor Xavier watched as the two smiled at each other and wished that he could share their joy. He was very happy for them. Even as a mutant race, there was no reason why having a child should not be a happy occasion, but he was very concerned. Even thinking it, himself made him feel horribly guilty, but it was fact. The child was inside Rogue, inside pretty much the most powerful mutant in the school, and it; she could be the reason they lost this war.

xxx

Magneto watched the interplay between the two mutants. Pyro and Athena were checking food rations into one of the large warehouses that they had commandeered. They were giving clear and concise instructions on what was to be done and how everyone was to do it. Moreover, they were smiling at each other.

He had been afraid of this. It was hard to be alone at the best of times. However, when there was someone who you wanted to be with and the person wanted to be with you, there were no visible obstacles in the way and they were near to you every day it was damn near impossible.

He sighed. He couldn't allow Pyro's feelings for this girl to compromise his mission. And compromise it, they would. Magneto knew. Pyro's allegiance to him was based on a hatred of those who hated him, and of course his respect and admiration for Magneto. However, respect and admiration may not be enough to prevent Pyro from trying to help Athena if she asked.

xxx

"Is too."

"Is not."

"Oh this is ridiculous, you know damn well it is too."

"It damn well is not."

Athena stopped herself from saying 'is too' again and took a deep breath. Right, different tactics. She raised her hands as in defeat, "All right fine, if you absolutely insist then, all right."

Pyro smiled, "Thank you."

She smiled back and slid her arms about his waist, hugging her body to hers. She had to convince him, had to make him understand, "But, the problem is that even if I agree with you, my people don't. What do you want me to do? Make them think that it's not extreme I have no control over what they think."

Pyro took a deep breath, "Athena, they have always known that this was the plan. To take on the humans and, if necessary, carve out a place for us."

Athena laid her head on his collarbone; Pyro could smell the scent of her hair and feel it tickling him under his chin. He felt her take a deep breath, "I'm afraid."

That surprised him. She didn't strike him as the kind of person who was afraid of much. "What are you afraid of?"

She lifted her head and met his eyes, "They wont go along with this. I know that in the end they wont. While their grief over my father was still fresh it was possible for them to be angry enough to consider it, now…" she paused and Pyro could tell that she was fighting off tears, guilt coursed through him and he fought the urge to tell her the truth to tell her everything. "Now, they keep asking themselves what he would have wanted. The simple fact is; he would not have wanted this."

Pyro knew what was coming, for the first time in his life he began to pray. Don't let this happen. I can't stand it. I can't lose her, "What are you saying Athena?"

"Pyro…I…" she paused and then she took his hands in hers, "I love you. But I can't do this. I can't be part of this. I can't…I can't be involved in something that would lead to the slaughter of hundreds and hundreds of people. Maybe even thousands. It goes against everything that I have ever believed in my life."

"Athena…please…" Pyro's heart was pounding in his chest. God, what was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to tell her the truth? That he loved her? That he would do anything for her? That if she wanted him to he would leave all of this to be with her, just because the idea of being parted was worse to him than death? "Athena…what do you want me to say?"

Athena took a breath, trying not to start yelling. Trying not to scream out how much she loved him. How he meant everything to her. How she didn't know how it had happened in such a short time. How she wanted to leave this place, where hatred saturated the very walls and go somewhere where they could just be happy together.

Instead, she raised her hands to the sides of his face and kissed him, "You need to do what you think is right."

xxx

Rogue lay on her back on one of the sofas in the common room. She stared at the ceiling pondering the question which every parent to be has to ponder at some point or another. It was difficult. If she chose wrongly, her daughter would probably never forgive her for it.

Bobby flopped down next to her, "We could always just name her after you."

Rogue crinkled up her nose, "I think not. I've never liked Marie and I'm not inflicting it on the next generation."

Bobby grinned, "Wow, 'the next generation'."

Rogue smiled at him. He was completely amazed by the very idea of them having a child. It wasn't like that for her. It was something innate. She was going to be a mother and it felt as if it was the most natural thing in the world to be happening. She even felt an intense connection to the child inside of her. She knew it was even stronger because she had already felt her child's presence when she was in that place.

Bobby was excited and hyperactive active. Overjoyed and almost dizzy with it. Her happiness was rooted in contentment, a calm, maternal feeling that she suspected women had always felt. She stroked a hand down the father of her child's cheek, "We'll come up with something."

He nodded happily and then a sudden frown crossed his face. "You're not going to be part of the x-men fighting force now are you?"

She met his eyes, "Of course I am Bobby. I can't let you go out there to fight them without me. The idea would drive me crazy."

"But Rogue you're pregnant. You can't risk something happening to you or our daughter."

Rogue felt fierce and conflicting emotions battling inside of her. On one side of the argument Bobby had a point, and her urge to protect her unborn child was strong. On the other side, she was very powerful, she was valuable and single-handedly she had saved them all last time. What if something happened and she wasn't there to help them this time? She wouldn't be able to live with herself. If something happened to Bobby, she looked into his face, she wouldn't be able to live.

"Bobby I know that this is hard for you. However, you have to accept this as my decision, I'm not taking myself out of the fighting. You know damn well that I am needed." She saw that he was about to argue, "Would you let me go without you?"

Bobby thought for a moment and then a resigned look came onto his face. He knew that he wouldn't. And so did she. He curled up next to her on the sofa.

xxx

Professor Xavier sat in front of his desk with his head in his hands. They needed Rogue, whichever way he played it out in his mind. One way or another they were going to need her and she wasn't going to be available.

Without her, they couldn't take on an army of mutants and hope to survive it. Her power was unique. He had never seen another one like it, and it was needed. Without it, he didn't know what they were going to do.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock at his door, "Come in Logan."

The feral X-man slipped through the door, "Rogue's just been to see me. She had some interesting news which I assume you've already hears."

The Professor nodded, "Yes," he repressed a smiled at Logan's obvious discomfort, "Finding it a little unnerving."

With a grunt Logan shrugged, "I can't say I'm overjoyed. She's still a kid to me."

The Professor smiled, "Of course, and now she's about to have one."

Logan scowled; the Professor knew that it was probably taking all of Logan's self control not to strangle Bobby for touching the woman he thought of as his daughter. "It's not so much that, though of course…" his mind seemed to drift up murderous stream again before he dragged it back kicking and screaming, "Will Rogue still be fighting now? She says that she is…in fact she was very clear on the subject. But I don't see how she can?"

It was a question, his eyes were piercing the Professor's, "Why is that Logan?"

"You know why."

The Professor thought he knew. Apparently, the same thought that had occurred to him had occurred to Logan too. In addition, from the sounds of it neither of them had had the heart to tell Rogue or Bobby about their concerns, "Rogue has powers capable of stripping the powers and life of any mutant. The round inhibitor on her back combats this. If she were too remove this she would kill her child. Without removing it, she cannot use her powers. Are we on the same page here?"

Logan sighed. "I was afraid you were going to say that."


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23 

_Ok, thought that I wouldn't leave it as long as last time in case all my readers came after me with torches and pitch forks. Have been suddenly inspired to continue and maybe even…gasp…shock…horror…finish it? I have been writing this story forever, I know, so I'm hoping to finish this, (nobody panic, sequels are possible)._

_There's still loads I could do with this so I'll probably want to continue but I want to wrap this one first._

xxx

Pyro lay flat on his back. He was thinking while at the same time trying very hard not to think. He knew what was going to happen. He knew what he was going to have to do. Part of him hated her for forcing him into this position. The other half loved her. Loved her more than he had ever thought it was possible to love someone. He turned onto his side to look at her. She was sleeping on her front. She faced him and her hair was spread out across her back. He lifted a hand and stroked it down her back. It hurt him so much that she couldn't side with him. But at the same time, he adored that about her.

She still hoped for the best. She still believed that everything could work out okay if she just had enough faith and kept trying. He wanted to believe that too, but he just couldn't. He was being completely truthful when he said that he believed peaceful coexistence to be impossible. Pyro saw things the way Magneto did.

He smiled as she sided and opened her eyes to stare up at him, "Hey."

She yawned sleepily, "Hey."

"Athena I think that we should talk."

She opened her eyes more fully, "You do?"

He knew that he didn't have to explain what he wanted to talk about. "I can't tell you that I see things from your point of view, you know that don't you?"

Her eyes filled with tears, "I was hoping that wasn't going to be true."

He reached out to touch her arm, "Athena, I can not lie to you. I can't tell you that I agree. What would be the point you would know I was lying."

She nodded as the tears streamed down her face, "I know." She paused, Pyro could see her shoulders shaking slightly. He fought the urge to take her into his arms and kiss her until she stopped crying, stopped thinking about anything but him. But he did stop himself, he had to get through this.

"Athena, I'm not going to change your mind, I'm not even going to try. I'm asking you not to try and change mine either."

She nodded again taking his hand in hers, "I wont. What would be the point?"

Pyro paused, "So…now you know, I need to ask you something."

She looked at him, "Okay." He took a deep breath and swallowed, trying to force the words out. They didn't want to come, "Pyro?"

He met her eyes, "Now that we've accepted that…will you just ignore it? Come away with me? Forget about all this and just go?"

Her eyes widened in shock, her saw the play of emotions across her face, until she settled on one. She didn't speak. Pyro wrapped his arms around her and pulled her across his lap. Her arms went about his shoulders as she cried, "Is that a yes?"

She nodded against his shoulder, "Yes. Yes, definitely yes."

Magneto watched from the doorway.

xxx

"Show me yours first."

Bobby shook his head, "Not a chance. You show me yours."

"Nope, you've got to show first. Come on I'm the one having the baby."

Bobby grinned at her, "I refuse to let that become an excuse for you to get away with anything you want you know."

Rogue grinned back, lifted up the hem of her shirt and said loudly, "Baby girl, daddy's being mean to mommy."

Despite himself he laughed, "Don't drag the children into this."

"Children plural? No way. One is absolutely plenty for now."

Bobby put his list of baby names down on the table and ignored Rogue's staring at it. He crawled towards her, "Well, what do you say we start practising for the new one?"

Rogue giggled and kissed him.

xxx

Athena bounced all day. Every time she took a step, she wanted to yell. The whole place looked different knowing that she was going to leave it soon. Every time she caught a glimpse of Pyro, she grinned to herself. He loved her and he was prepared to sacrifice what he'd worked for, for her.

She had arranged to meet him on their balcony at seven. At six thirty, she climbed to the top and sat dangling her legs over the side. She watched the mutants below. She felt bad that she wasn't going to stay to help them, but she knew that many of them were dedicated to their cause.

Arms encircling her from behind surprised her. She turned her head and smiled to see Pyro, "Hey, I've missed you today."

She stood up and kissed him. Then she froze. Something was not right. She pulled away and looked into the eyes of the man she loved, "Pyro? What's..?" Before she could say anything else she caught sight of gold flashed in his eyes…what was going on?

"Pyro…what's happened?" She was trying to focus on his eyes but movement caught her eye. She glanced down at Pyro's feet in surprise. By the time she'd returned her stare to his, it was no longer there. Mystique's face glared into hers. The older woman slammed both hands into Athena's chest. Athena tried to balance herself by putting her foot back but the balcony ended.

For one horrible second as Pyro looked up he saw Athena trying to grab at something with her hands, anything. She toppled backwards and fell.

xxx

Pyro was running towards her and he realised that someone in the crowd was screaming. A second later it dawned on him that the person screaming was him. He tried to push his way through the people who were just looking up at that moment, trying o get to her. Before he could, he saw her…and heard a sickening thud.

He shoved everyone out of the way, as he ran he knocked several to the floor. Someone was knelt by her, touching her hand. NO! Leave her alone. Get away from her. He pushed their hand away and looked down her.

Her eyes were opened and she was shuddering, "Athena! Athena!" she coughed and blood stained her lips, "Oh god, Athena" Please don't…please. Please don't let her die. He didn't know whom he was praying to. She looked at him, "Athena? I'm here. I'm here. What happened?"

Her eyes looked back up at the balcony. He followed her stare and saw a man, maybe twenty running along the railing. For a moment, he almost gave chase, but he looked down again and saw her frowning and moving her head almost imperceptibly. No. No what?"

"Athena?" He took her hand in his and felt tears roll down his face when he realised it was cold, "Athena, I love you. I love you more than anything."

She smiled at him, she coughed again as she tried to speak and blood trickled from her mouth, "Shh, don't try to speak. I know. I know. I just…I need you to know. I love you. God I love you. I've never loved anyone else."

She smiled at him and he felt her gripping his hand.

Then her grip went slack. "Athena? Athena?"

He heard someone in the crowd crying but his eyes had dried. He couldn't cry. He lifted her body into his lap and held her. It was okay. They were leaving. They were going to leave all of this. They were going to be fine. He rocked backwards and forwards holding her tight. By the time he was taken to his room he didn't realise he was being moved.

xxx

"We are not naming our daughter Arabella."

Bobby glared, "I happen to think it's a beautiful name."

Rogue giggled, "Don't even think about it."

His glare broke and he smiled, "Well it's better than Marietta."

Rogue stuck her tongue out, "That wasn't my first choice."

They had decided to forego the list process. It was getting them nowhere. They had been debating for hours. It was four in the morning and they were giving each other one name at a time. "Okay, so what was your first choice."

"I'm not telling you. You'll laugh at me."

She heard a giggling from the sofa. Logan and another student were sat watching the television/listening to the couple argue."

"He's laughed at every other name you've come up with why not this one too?"

"Because I like this one."

The boy sat next to Logan blinked and the program on the screen changed. Rogue looked sulkily from Logan to Bobby, "Oh all right, but laugh if you dare. Imogen."

Bobby paused, "Actually, I quite like that one. Imogen, yeah."

Rogue raised her eyebrows in surprise, you mean we actually agree on a name?"

Bobby put an arm about her shoulders and she snuggled into his side. "Yes I believe we do. Though her middle name's Arabella of course."

She looked up at him and saw that he was laughing at her, "You're mean."

Logan laughed as well, "God, I am so glad that I never had children."

Rogue smiled evilly, "That reminds me. Logan would you consider being Imogen's godfather?"

Logan choked on his beer.

xxx


	24. Chapter 24

_Chapter 24_

_Rating: PG- 13_

_Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers. To those who read and did not review, may you all burn in hell…nah I'm kidding. Purgatory would do._

Good morning and welcome to the latest instalment of 'Let's Torture Nearly Everyone in the X-men Universe.' Today we'll find out what's happening to Pyro after the loss of the love of his life. We'll see how Rogue and Bobby cope with a devastating discovery and Professor Xavier will remain as unflappable as ever. Please enjoy.

xxx

"You simply can not, Rogue. If you were to remove your disc you would kill your daughter."

Rogue stood in Professor Xavier's office with angry tears streaming down her face. She was pacing round; she had been doing for almost half an hour trying to find a way round the Professor's inescapable logic. It infuriated her. This was not fair. They were asking her to choose between protecting her baby and protecting the people in her life who she loved. How was that fair? "There has to be something. Some way around it. If I don't help, more people might die. You said it yourself before. I have a strong power and I'm useful and now you want me to wait behind while they go off and face God knows what and God knows how many?"

The Professor took a deep breath. Didn't she realise how much he wanted her to go with them? He was perfectly aware of how much power she had and how much she was capable of, now more than ever. He could feel her feelings pressing on the edges of his mind. She knew. She just…couldn't bear it. His heart ached for her. He knew how he'd feel if he was suddenly told that he wasn't able to help, "Rogue, I'm not…I can't tell you what to do. I would never presume to try. All I'm telling you is the facts. Your choice is still, and always will be, yours."

She met his eyes, "But it's not a choice is it? It's just…fact. Like you said. I can't kill my baby." She paused and gripped the back of the chair she'd been occupying. "Thanks Professor." She picked up her bag, "I guess I have to go and talk to Bobby."

The Professor nodded and smiled, "He'll understand."

She gave a wry smile in return, "Are you kidding? He'll be thrilled."

xxx

Pyro's eyes scanned over the surveillance screens. He could see the man leaving the building and running off into the night. There was nothing distinctive about him. Medium height, build, complexion, even his clothes were simple. Jeans and a black jacket. He sat back. He had been looking for something, anything.

His fingers rubbed the bridge of his nose. He didn't know what to do. He felt so…lost. He wished she was here with him. He would give anything to have her come up behind him and just tell him that she loved him one more time.

He grit his teeth, he would never have that again. He shook his head as though to clear it. He couldn't seem to force his brain to comprehend it, to make sense of it. How could she…just not be here anymore? How was it…possible?

Pyro slumped forward in his chair with his head in his hands. His grief was still too raw for tears he was just…dead. Mystique had told him tat it had taken them twenty minutes to make him let go of her body, though he didn't remember it. He glanced at the screen again, Mystique had been making her rounds at that time apparently.

He stood up. She might have seen the man. Maybe she hadn't brought it up because she didn't want to upset him anymore, but if she knew something, she'd tell him. He'd make her.

xxx

"Mystique!"

She turned around when she heard Pyro calling her. His condition was beginning to worry her. He hadn't eaten in days and had lost at least a stone in weight since the girl's death. He looked terrible, "Pyro, everything okay?"

Nothing was okay, "Did you see anything?"

Mystique thought quickly. She didn't have to ask what he was talking about. He was obsessed, "I didn't. I'm sorry."

"But you were there!" he insisted.

"What!" He eyes widened. He didn't know, he couldn't.

Pyro frowned, "I saw you on the security videos. You were coming back into the building about five minutes after the guy ran. You must have seen something."

Mystique felt her heart rate returning to normal, "I know but I didn't see him. He must have just run. I'm sorry." She turned and walked away leaving him standing there.

His frown deepened. She knew something he knew that she did. Was she trying to protect him from something she thought he wasn't ready to hear? No, it was more than that. She seemed genuinely worried when he's insisted that she'd been there. She was hiding something.

Pyro turned and headed back to the security room. He was going to find out what it was.

xxx

Magneto sat at his desk. Their first wave of attack was going to be soon. Sooner than anyone thought. Within a week if everything ran to schedule, which it was continuing to do. He perused some plans of a government office building that was right in the centre of the city. That seemed like a good place to start. He raised is head when there was a knock at the door. "Come in."

Mystique slipped through the door, "Am I disturbing you?"

Magneto smiled at her, "You're never disturbing me my dear."

She smiled back at him in response and sat down, "I'm concerned about Pyro. He's obsessed with what happened with the girl. He is still trying to find out who the man was and he has been looking at the camera footage."

"There was nothing to tie you to it surely. You are so careful."

She shifted in her chair, "There is nothing. However, it does show me re-entering the compound afterwards. He has just assumed that I was out doing something else."

"He has assumed? You mean he has asked you about it?"

She nodded heavily, "He just asked me if I saw the man leaving on my way back in and as far as I know he has no suspicions about our involvement."

Magneto nodded, "I debated whether or not to try and stop him looking at the camera footage. But in the end I decided that not allowing him to do so could appear suspicious, even under a guise of concern for his well-being."

"And it would have been." She knew that Magneto was right of course. If they had refused him access, he would have been more attentive and tried other means. At least on the CCTV footage there was nothing he could find.

xxx

He rewound the tape, watched it and rewound it. He didn't know what he was looking for. But something. Anything. Why had no one seen the man previously? Why had no one wondered what he was doing there? How had Mystique not seen anything? She must have been coming down the main access road at around the same time.

Wait…maybe she saw him going in. He hit rewind again and kept going. He had not been able to find evidence of the man entering, but if Mystique went out at a similar time, she may have seen something. He kept rewinding. She went out on foot; he knew that because she returned that way. He kept rewinding. Even if she hadn't seen, there might be someone who remembered something odd at that specific time. He kept rewinding. Someone must have seen, the stairs up to the balcony were in a crowded area. Someone must have seen that man go up to wait for Athe…to wait. He kept rewinding.

There she was, she was…coming back into the complex, in a car. He could see her transforming as the gates opened for her. Returning to her real appearance. He rewound the tape a little more and found that she had left twenty minutes earlier…and then returned.

He must have missed her later departure. He fast-forwarded the tape, watching more closely, he didn't see her leave again. In fact…he didn't see anyone leave or depart until she returned on foot.

There was only one entrance for safety reasons. She could only have left through the gates. The only person to leave was the man. And the only person to come back was her. And the only person to leave was the man. And the only person to come back was her…

He could feel every centimetre of his skin heating. Mystique and therefore…Magneto.

His eyes slid out of focus as the tears began to course down his cheeks

xxx

Bobby was sitting on his bed staring at a sample book of wallpaper and fabric. He and Rogue were moving into one of the teacher's apartments. It made more sense now that they had a baby on the way but unfortunately, the rooms had not been decorated in over three years and as Rogue put it, 'looked like they had been attacked by a clown with a squirty flower full of different coloured, and bad, wallpaper.'

Still, he couldn't seem to care. Stupid book, he really didn't care. As long as she was happy with it didn't matter to him, which they had.

He heard the door handle turning and looked up to see Rogue entering looking upset, "Hey, something wrong?"

She met his eyes, "Well, I think you got your wish. There is no way that I can help in the fight against Magneto. Taking off my disc would kill our daughter."

Bobby reeled for a moment as he tried to take in what she was saying. Rogue walked over to the desk, put her bag down and leant against the chair. Her head sank down and Bobby watched as the wood beneath her hands frosted over and then spread.

It snapped him back to reality and he moved over to her. She turned into his arms, "I could tell you that I'm sorry Rogue, but you know it wouldn't be true."

She turned angry eyes on him, "So you're pleased that my decision has been taken away from me. That is so cruel."

"Rogue that is not the case at all. I'm just glad that you're not going to be placed in a situation that's dangerous for you and our daughter."

She pulled away from his grasp, "It was my decision to take and now you're happy I can't."

His eyes blazed as he lost his temper too, "Yes I'm happy that you can't decide to kill our daughter, though I guess you still could decide to anyway."

She flinched as though he had hit her. She opened her mouth to speak and nothing came out. As Bobby tried to reach out for her and tell her that he was sorry, that he knew she'd never do that, she darted past him and slammed the door.

He turned, pulled it open and tried to follow her, but she was already getting in the lift at the end of the hall. He went after her but he heard the door shutting, "Rogue, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. I'm…"

She was gone.

xxx

Okay, I know this chapter was mainly dealing with Magneto and Pyro and stuff, but it's important so it had to be done. Imogen is pronounced Im-o-jen. I'm open to other suggestions though, so feel free.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25 

_Rating PG-13_

_Okay, and here we all are. I'm in an updating kind of mood now so expect me to maybe even finish. **Gasp** **Shock** **Horro**r_

xxx

"Kid, tell me what's wrong?" Logan paused, "Come on, how can I help you fix it if you don't tell me what's wrong?"

Rogue sobbed into his chest. She didn't know what to say. She didn't even know where to begin. She was so angry. But…she was so sorry at the same time.

Part of her was so angry she wanted to scream. How could he say that to her? How could he even think that she would consider seriously endangering her child? Their child? She had been prepared to take her chances on protecting their daughter in battle, just for the sake of having a chance to protect Bobby and all their friends. But there was no way she would…her tears came back full force.

She was sorry though. She'd pushed him. She'd just…taken everything he'd said the worst way possible. The way he didn't mean it and she knew that. "Rogue please…tell me what's wrong."

She just nestled her way further into his shoulder. "R…Marie please."

She tried to still her crying and sat up to wipe her face, "I just had a fight with Bobby. I…I said some horrible things to him. Things that I…well, things that I didn't mean. I don't know what's wrong with me. I just…I sort of wanted to fight with him because I was so angry at…"

Logan filled in the blanks for himself, "You were angry at the fact that you can't fight. And you took it out on Bobby because he'd never wanted you to fight in the first place."

Rogue nodded, "I just, I wanted someone to blame. It's just…not like me."

Logan sighed, the very thought that he was about to become both her mother and her father scared the crap out of him…and kinda freaked him out too, "Rogue has it ever occurred to you that maybe you're not yourself right now. At least not just yourself."

Rogue frowned at him, "I don't get it."

"Rogue you're pregnant. You're not thinking clearly. Pregnancy affects women strangely all the time. And you're not exactly carrying a normal baby."

She thought for a second, "It's still no excuse. I was horrible to Bobby, really horrible."

Logan smiled, "It's not an excuse. But it is a reason."

Rogue smiled back a little, "Do you think…"

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. "Logan, is she in there? Come on please, I need to talk to her!"

Logan looked at Rogue, who shook her head. He opened the door a crack, "Bobby, she just needs a little time."

Bobby stuck his foot in the door, "Logan, look, I know that you're only trying to help, but I need to talk to her."

Logan pushed the door, not hard enough to hurt but hard enough to make his point, "Bobby, whether you think I'm helping or not, you are certainly not. I know she said some things…but she's pregnant and you have to be patient. Give her some time."

Bobby almost squared up, but stopped himself, whether or not he wanted to see Rogue was irrelevant. Right now, she didn't want to see him. He took his foot out of the door, nodded and turned away.

xxx

Magneto was talking. Pyro was listening. Everyone was listening. Five days. That was how long they had left. In five days, Magneto would begin the war.

So be it. Pyro didn't know what was going to happen then. But he knew that something would. Whether or not it worked out was another subject. Five days was fine. Pyro looked up at Magneto and over at Mystique, they were all he had left now.

They had wanted it that way. He knew that and it made him angry but at the end of day, it was still the same point. He had them, he didn't have anything else. They were his motivation.

Pyro fought the urge to throw up.

xxx

Rogue lay in Logan's bed staring up at the ceiling. He had graciously offered it to her while taking the sofa, and he had said some other things too. Things that made a lot of sense, too much to ignore.

She had been honest, she'd told him what she'd said to Bobby and what he'd said to her. Logan had become quite parental with her, she smiled at the thought of it. Told her quite plainly that she had been out of order and then conceded that Bobby had been out of line too.

Then at the end he'd said that it didn't matter really, because Bobby had still come after her.

xxx

Rogue slipped through the door of her room to see Bobby lay in bed with his eyes open. He looked at her when she entered and she could tell that he was trying to read her mood.

She smiled and took off her coat. Once she had undressed she slipped under the covers, Bobby was still looking at her in concern. She kissed him gently and rested her head on his chest. She felt him sigh deeply and tighten his arms around her back. She knew he was sorry and he knew that she was sorry. That was enough.

xxx

Pyro ticked off the guns one by one. Then he ticked off the rounds of ammunition they still had. He was keeping himself busy, trying to ignore the feeling.

He checked over the condition of the body armour. All of it was fine. One of his priorities had been to ensure that enough body armour was available for every mutant who was going to go into battle. Safety first, it had been one of her priorities too. He clenched his teeth, he wasn't going to think about that. He wasn't going to think about her. Not if he was going to keep going.

"Everything present and correct?"

He spun around when he heard Mystique's voice behind him, "Oh…yeah. Yeah, everything seems to be hear that we could need."

"Good. We only have a short time left."

"I know," his face hardened, "Don't worry, it'll all be right."

She smiled, "I know."

xxx

When the knock at the door came, he was ready to open it. He had been expecting her, "Come in, my dear."

Mystique strode through the door, "He knows."

Magneto sighed heavily, he had suspected but he had hoped that it wasn't the case, "How is he reacting to it?"

Mystique shook her head in confusion, "It's difficult to say. He was rigorously checking all the equipment, it doesn't seem to have put him off the idea of fighting."

Magneto raised his eyebrows, "Well, that's promising. He has not said anything to either one of us, perhaps he may be putting it all behind him." Mystique nodded hesitantly, "You don't think so?"

Mystique met his eyes and shook her head more firmly, "No, I don't."

Magneto sighed again, "Neither do I."

After a pause Mystique continued, "I don't think he's going to back out though. It seems to mean more to him now than it ever did."

"Well then perhaps this situation is salvageable. We cannot go ahead with our plan without him and we cannot afford any more delays. We need Pyro to clear a way for us, he is the only one with the skill and the willingness, and the fire breathers are certainly not going to help us. Since Athena's death they have become more and more reticent."

"Well, in that case we have to go ahead as planned. We can…" their conversation was interrupted by a large mutant crashing through the door.

He was agitated and began speaking quickly, "Sir, two of the mutant groups have left!"

Magneto stood up quickly, "What do you mean left?" No, this could not be happening. He could take a good guess at which groups had gone, Athena's and a group of telepaths.

"They just went sir. They said that they couldn't go through with something that would cause so much death."

Pyro came through the door behind the large mutant, "What's going on?"

"Two party's of mutants have departed."

A line immediately creased the middle of Pyro's forehead, "Why would they do that?"

Magneto shook his head, "I don't know."

xxx

Rogue stretched like a cat as she awoke. She was feeling relaxed and warm. She looked down to the side of her and saw the reason. Bobby was lying sprawled across her with his arms wrapped round her back. She smiled at his sleeping face. He always looked so gorgeous when he was asleep. She lifted her hand and ran a finger over his brow. Suddenly she felt her stomach clench.

Then she checked herself. What was…it came again. Oh yeah. Morning sickness. She shoved Bobby off her and rushed from the room just as he sat up dazedly. Bobby took a second to register what had happened and his immediate thought was that he might have done something to upset her. Grabbing a clean t-shirt, he followed her.

Seeing her sat on the floor being …not very well, almost made him laugh. It wasn't funny but he was relieved it wasn't something he'd done.

He knelt just behind her and held her hair up, rubbing her back with his other hand, "Shh, it's okay. It'll be over soon." He hoped so anyway, if there was one thing Rogue hated it was being sick. That probably meant the first few months were going to be quite tough on her. He knew that this was the time when most women got nauseous. He'd been doing some reading on the Internet.

But then again…some women were nauseous throughout their whole pregnancy. He thought about how it would feel to want to throw up for nine months, and resolved to be a lot more patient with Rogue in the future.


End file.
